


The Sun and the Rose

by Treekianthia



Series: The Divine Chosen [3]
Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Lore Building, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2019-11-19 07:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18132800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treekianthia/pseuds/Treekianthia
Summary: (Alternate Universe) As the man marked by the god Alephan, it's Cyrus' duty to record and spread as much knowledge as he possibly can. To help further his research, he tags along on a journey made by Primrose Azelhart, descendant and Divine Chosen of the Goddess Sealticge, and her companions to participate in a yearly festival. Though his main goal is to learn as much about the troupe as he can, he find himself in some rather interesting situations along the way.





	1. Lesson One: The Dancers of the Gods and Goddesses

**Author's Note:**

> The following fic takes place before the beginning of Aeber and Bifelgan, which will become important in later chapters. For now, however, enjoy what chaos Cyrus has found himself in.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When given permission to join the Dancers of the Gods and Goddesses for their upcoming festival, Cyrus is completely ecstatic. Due to the nature of the journey, he decides to meet up with a portion of the girls at the esteemed Azelhart manor, where he immediately finds himself delving into his notes and asking questions.

The town of Noblecourt.

It was lovely this time of year, and the streets were filled with boisterous residents who ran to and fro as carriages made their way passed. The colors and signs of Winter had faded, and the signs of Spring had made themselves known. Rows of flower bushes were planted everywhere, and their blooms were slowly starting to form. Roses, dahlias, hollyhocks, asters, violets, and so many more- those from the area all knew what they represented. They were all the names of dancers who had come to pass.

Cyrus remembered the day the dahlias had been planted. He had been 17 at the time, having returned home to visit his mother during a break in his schooling. Dahlia Azelhart, who danced as the Goddess Sealticge in a yearly festival, had died under mysterious circumstances a few weeks prior. There were rumors in town that she had been murdered, but the family never confirmed how she passed. No matter the circumstances, however, the seeds were promptly planted throughout town by her daughter, the next in line to dance as Sealticge.

Thirteen years had passed since that moment, and eleven since Cyrus had last set foot in the town. Now, as a scholar of age 30, he found himself returning in hopes of furthering his research. Three months prior, he had sent a letter to the Azelhart family making a rather bold request. He wished to meet with Sealticge’s current dancer, and accompany her and her troupe as they prepared for the upcoming festival. He had been ecstatic when he received a reply from Lord Azelhart himself that his request would be granted, and immediately began to prepare.

A letter of introduction in hand, Cyrus made his way towards the Azelhart Manor. A teacher of his had a close connection to the family, so when Cyrus’ learned he would be allowed to observe the troupe, he had written to his teacher as well. She had sent him back a rather short letter, with another that he was instructed not to open or read. He was to give it the Lady Azelhart when he first met her, and it would discuss all she’d need to know about Cyrus. He was grateful that his teacher, despite her retirement, had been willing to help.

Arriving at the manor, Cyrus stood in front of the large doors leading inside. Around him, guards patrolled the area in small numbers. They would occasionally look at him, but none saw him as enough of a threat to approach. Clearing his throat, he adjusted a pin on his cloak and made sure his bangs were not covering his face. Raising his free hand, he knocked loudly on the door.

One, two, three… It took three seconds for somebody to answer the door- a young, black-haired woman wearing servantry garb. She looked at Cyrus.

“May I help you?” she politely asked the man. Cyrus stood up straight, placing his arms behind his back as he did so. He wanted to show he meant no harm.

“Ah, hello! My name is Cyrus Albright,” he introduced. “I am to be meeting with the Lord Azelhart and his daughter today. May I come in?”

The servant nodded as she eyed Cyrus’ forehead- a mark shaped like the sun clearly visible on him. “Ah yes, they have been expecting you, Sir Albright. Please, follow me and I will take you to them.”

Following the servant as instructed, Cyrus was led into the manor, through a hall, and eventually taken to another large set of doors. Portraits of different men and women adorned the walls, and Cyrus quickly took out a journal to write down the details of everything that he saw. He wanted to make sure he recorded as much as he could before the troupe left the next morning.

“While Lord Geoffrey will not be joining us until later, Lady Primrose and a few of the other dancers are just outside this door in the gardens,” the servant informed Cyrus. “They are willing to speak with you as much as you’d like, but only at the request that you did not get in their way when they practice.”

Nodding in understanding, Cyrus looked up from his journal. “Of course, of course! I would never try to interrupt something as serious as their dancing!” he promised the woman. The roles the dancers held were important ones, and he had no interest in causing any of them trouble. He only wished to observe them during their time together.

Smiling, the servant opened the double doors. “Right this way then, Sir Albright,” she said as she gestured for Cyrus to go outside. Promptly, the scholar walked into the flower filled gardens that surrounded the entire back end of the manor property.

In front of a fountain, seven more young women sat chatting with each other. They varied in age and appearance, and all of them had come from different regions of Orsterra. Cyrus knew that this was only half the group, however, and that six more girls would be meeting up with them at another time. Two would join up on the troupe’s way to Sunshade, while the other four would travel on their own and meet up with the group in town. It was only the dancers who came from the northern half of Orsterra that stood before him.

“Lady Primrose, Dancers of the Gods and Goddesses, you have a visitor,” the servant announced as she stood next to Cyrus. The women’s conversation abruptly ended, and they all turned their attention to Cyrus. A few of them giggled before turning back to each other and whispering.

One woman, however, stood up and stepped forward. Her brown hair was pulled up neatly, and her red dress flowed behind her as she walked. On her collarbone, which the dress had been cut to expose, was a mark that depicted a delicate rose vine.

Cyrus immediately knew who she was.

She was Primrose Azelhart.

Sealticge’s Chosen Dancer.

“You must be Alephan’s Scholar, Cyrus Albright,” Primrose said as she smiled softly. “Odette has told me much about you in the past, and father and I have been greatly looking forward to meeting you.”

Beaming, Cyrus pulled the letter he had been given from his pocket. “Ah yes, I am indeed Cyrus Albright,” he said as he held his hand out, “And you must be Primrose! I was instructed to deliver this letter to you when we met!”

“Oh?” Primrose questioned as she took the letter from his hand. Opening it up, she began to read the words Cyrus had not been allowed to see. Her smile grew wider as she did so. Cyrus continued to beam.

“Odette was my teacher for many years, and the one who took me in after my mother’s passing,” he explained to the dancer. “Though, I’m sure you already know this based on the relationship between the two of you.”

The dancer began to laugh as she folded the letter back up. “It’s been many years since I’ve last had the chance to speak with my older sister, but based on her letter, it seems she hasn’t changed one bit. She seems to speak rather highly of you too.”

Odette Azelhart- the adoptive daughter of Dahlia and Geoffrey Azelhart, and adoptive sister to Primrose. Odette had been taken in as a young teenager by Geoffrey before he was wed, and when Geoffrey married into the Azelhart family, Dahlia happily accepted Odette with open arms. Primrose was born around the time Odette was to turn 17, and though Odette left for Atlasdam at age 21 to start her career as a professor, the two girls managed to stay close, even with such a large age gap. Odette had been 27 when she and Primrose lost their mother, and Odette began teaching Cyrus shortly after that. He was her student for almost ten years before she retired and moved away to continue her studies on her own.

“I owe much to your sister, and I am eternally grateful for all she has done for me. I only have high praises for her as well!” Cyrus continued. Though it had been four years since he had last seen Odette, he would still write to her when he made progress in his research. She was always far more interested in what he had to say than the students at the academy.

“Primrose, aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend?” one of the dancers interrupted. She was a short girl, with flaming red hair that she had tied in many different ways. All the girls next to her giggled as Cyrus turned his attention to them. Primrose followed suit.

“Everyone, this is the man I was telling you about, Cyrus Albright, Alephan’s Scholar. He’ll be joining us for our next festival,” the woman explained. Amongst the group, a rather serious woman stood up and curtsied before making her way over.

“Hello, Lord Albright. My name is Wilhelmina Harken,” she introduced. “I am the one who dances for your God, Alephan. It is my pleasure to meet the one whom he has chosen, as it is my duty to express his legends.”

Cyrus smiled brightly. “Ah, a pleasure Miss Wilhelmina!” he expressed. Without a second thought, he opened his journal to a blank page and began to write. He was making notes.

  * _Sealticge - Primrose Azelhart - Divine Chosen_
  * _Alephan - Wilhelmina Harken - Not a chosen_



Cyrus looked up at the other girls. “I know we’ve only just met, but may I know all your names as well, and who you dance for?” he asked. Even if he had just barely arrived, it was never too early for him to begin writing his notes!

“Of course, Lord Albright! We’d all love to!” another girl agreed before giggling. The others began whispering amongst each other again, and a few more of them began to giggle after. Cyrus wasn’t sure why they were reacting in such a way, but it seemed he would be getting what he asked for.

First, there was of course, Primrose, Sealticge’s dancer herself. She was the leader of the troupe- a role that she would have inherited whether she had been marked or not. As a descendant of the Goddess of Creativity herself, she was the most suited to lead the dancers. According to her, she had been marked at the tender age of 14, though she had been dancing for the Goddess since age 10. Her mother’s passing had caused her to inherit the role far too early.

Next came Wilhelmina, who was just as serious as she appeared. She, like Cyrus, hailed from Atlasdam, and had actually been a student at the academy where Cyrus taught. Though she had not personally met him before, her husband had. It turned out the two had participated in a research project years ago, and they occasionally kept in contact. As it was purely knowledge based, however, Cyrus had not learned of his old friend’s marriage to such an important figure.

Then there was Eve, the dancer for Aelfric. She was taller than the other girls, and built quite a bit thicker. She was from Stillsnow, where she grew up doing mercenary work under a group run by her father. She had always dreamed of being a dancer, however, so when she learned that new dancers were being recruited for the troupe, she ran away to Noblecourt to audition. It had been a risky move, but it paid off when her skills obtained her a spot amongst them. She was also happy to note that she was still in regular contact with her father, and he was proud of the woman she had become.

After that was the girl with the red hair- Dreisang’s dancer, a girl named Celica. She came from a family hailing from Victor’s Hollow that was almost as powerful as the Azelharts. The two families apparently had a good relation, which helped secure a spot for one of the western family’s many daughters. Celica was one of the older daughters, born right after the family’s only son. She was sure Cyrus made note that all of her siblings had the same red hair she did.

Following her was a rather loud dancer who called herself Aa’miya, or Ami for short. She was from the hidden village of S’waarki, and her manner of speech and the lynx that followed her were proof of that. She danced for Draefendi, whose Divine Chosen Ami claimed to have grown up with. When Cyrus asked if she could share information on said chosen, the dancer bluntly declined, stating Draefendi’s Companion had chosen to stay anonymous amongst outsiders. Beyond that, Cyrus noted that the buns in Ami’s hair resembled bear ears of sorts.

Yusufa was the one who introduced herself next. Her striking blue hair was what stuck out with her the most, along with her strong bond with Primrose. The two were the same age, leading them to becoming fast friends when Yusufa was chosen for the group. Yusufa was not of noble blood, and instead had been selected by the daughterless Caldisla family to audition on their behalf. As Steorra’s dancer, much of her casual dress had constellations stitched into it to reflect the goddess’ connection to the night sky.

Lastly, there was Selena, the woman who had been chosen to dance for Galdera. The dancers of the Fallen God were normally thought to carry a heavy burden, but Selena said it was a role she held pride in. Galdera’s stories warned the people of corruption, and they were all tales she felt could be learned from. She also claimed to be quite shy, with her true personality shining when she danced on stage. Her family was also not originally from Orsterra, but they held the same beliefs as those who were.

Each new detail fascinated Cyrus, and he wrote down everything he was told. He sketched rough portraits of each girl as well, making note to improve on them as they traveled. His notes, however, felt incomplete with only half of the troupe being present, so he asked the women if there was a possibility they could share information on those he had yet to meet. They happily agreed to talk of their friends, though they emphasized that there was only so much they could share. Any further details would have to come from the other dancers themselves.

According to those present, the youngest of the dancers was a girl named Elena, who danced for the Goddess Bifelgan. She was in truth the second dancer for the Goddess of Fortune that generation, as she replaced her older sister after she suffered from a career ending injury. The dancers didn’t expand much on the details, but apparently Elena’s sister had been in a horrendous accident, permanently damaging her ability to walk, and in turn, dance.

The oldest dancer, meanwhile, was a well-respected woman named Ishtar. She hailed from the Highlands, where she served as a knight during the off season. It was only fitting for the dancer who served the god Brand to do such, and they said she was on good terms with a young woman who had hopes to one day take up the mantle of said god’s priestess.

The group talked of Dohter’s dancer next- a woman named Meryl who came from a rather troubled background. She did not speak of the noble family to which she was born into, but instead of the kind, elderly couple that had raised her in their place. Through them, she learned of the god she represented, and grew to become a woman who was sweet and kind.

It was then revealed to Cyrus that there was also high royalty amongst all of the nobility and common folk in the troupe. Princess Gloria of Marsalim- or Ria, as they called her- was the dancer for the god Balogar. Though she had originally been chosen due to her royal status, through hard work and determination she proved that she truly deserved the spot she had obtained.

Word then shifted to a noble woman originally coming from Saintsbridge who loved to gossip among them. According to the dancers, Lucrezia was not the kind of person people expected to be chosen as Winnehild’s dancer due to her talkative nature. Despite her love of gossip and rumors, however, they said she held a powerful presence fit for the Goddess that she represented.

They finished with Cardia, a rather forgetful dancer that they always worried would get lost on her way to Sunshade. Luckily enough for her, she always made it safely one way or another- a miracle they said was a reflection of Aeber, the god she danced for. Apparently she was a magnet for travelers, mostly men passing through the same way she was, and they would help her reach her destination.

“And that summarizes our troupe well enough for now,” Primrose stated as Cyrus scribbled in his journal furiously. “Any other questions will have to wait for another time, after everyone has gathered together.”

Finishing his notes, Cyrus closed his journal. “I understand completely, and I thank you all so much for enlightening me!” he said before smiling again. To Cyrus’ surprise, a few of the girls turned away while blushing. They immediately began whispering amongst each other once more.

“Quite charming… Single? ...Definitely Married! No... Perhaps so?” Those were some of the few words that Cyrus was able to make out from their private conversation. He wasn’t sure what they were going on about, but it was not his business to ask. He wasn’t the kind of person to be nosey and try to get involved in conversations where he did not belong.

Primrose, meanwhile, turned to the black haired servant, who had moved back towards the door. “Arianna, do you know when my father will return?” the dancer asked. “It’s been quite some time since he left, and I know he was looking forward to meeting Lord Albright before we left.”

The servant bowed her head down. “Lord Geoffrey did not say when he would return from his current affairs, but promised he would be back in time to see you off tomorrow morning,” she explained. Cyrus looked at the servant curiously and placed his hand on his chin.

“If I may ask, what are these affairs that Lord Azelhart is attending to?” he inquired. Cyrus tried to think of possibilities, but nothing came to mind. This was a question that somebody else would need to answer for him.

The servant turned towards Cyrus. “Our Lord Azelhart is one of the leaders of a special guard that protects Noblecourt, and he’s currently attending an important meeting with the other leaders. You see, we’ve had a string of strange thefts recently, and they believe they’ve found a lead on a culprit,” she explained. Intrigued, Cyrus questioned further.

“Strange thefts, you say? Of what kind?” he asked. This time, however, the servant need not answer for him. A moment after Cyrus asked his question, the answer began to form in his head. It was something he had grown quite accustomed to.

As a Divine Chosen, Cyrus had been granted many different kinds of abilities. While some abilities increased his magic potential, others increased his ability to teach and learn. One such ability was the ability to access any written knowledge, whether he had previously read it or not. All that he needed to do was to ask or be asked a question, and if the answer was known and written, it would be revealed to him, no matter what form the writing took. It could be from books, ancient scripts, or even things such as letters.

...it had admittedly been very difficult not to ask what Odette had written about him, but out of the respect for her privacy, he had refrained from doing such.

As he thought, the scholar began to pace. “Thefts that only occur on the night of a new moon, only for the stolen items to be returned on the next full moon… Fascinating!” Cyrus said before smiling to himself. There must have been a good reason for such a pattern, and he wouldn’t mind trying to figure it out in his spare time.

The servant gasped. “Ah, yes! That’s exactly what’s been happening!” she said as she brought her hands together. “It has been going on for quite some time now, and nobody knows who or why.”

As Cyrus continued to pace, Primrose crossed her arms below her chest. “A few heirlooms from my father’s side of the family were taken last month, but they were safely returned a few days ago. It was jewelry that he had given my mother, but after her passing it sits on an altar we use for remembrance,” she explained. “We have no idea how the thief managed to sneak in and take the items, and even more how they were able to return them without getting caught.”

“How intriguing…” Cyrus muttered to himself before re-opening his journal. He took his pen out from a vest pocket where he had placed it, and began writing once more. This was something he desperately wanted to look into.

“That’s enough talk of such negative things!” one of the dancers suddenly stated. “Lord Albright, now that we’ve spoken of ourselves, why don’t you tell us about yourself instead?”

“Huh?” Cyrus looked at the dancers in confusion. The point of his presence was to learn about the dancers, not the other way around. Surely he wasn’t anywhere near as interesting as they were!

“Thou surely hath many stories thee can tellen!” Ami commented as she pet the beast sitting next to her. Cyrus felt himself growing shy and fidgeted with the pen in his hand.

“I don’t think there’s really much of interest to my life,” he admitted. “I’m just an ordinary professor trying to further his research.”

“Oh nonsense! You’re a Divine Chosen, aren’t you? There has to be plenty of interesting things about your life!” Eve tried to convince him. Cyrus felt himself growing pale, and he cleared his throat to try and calm his nerves.

“Really, I promise you I’m not that interesting. Even with my mark, I still research, make documentations, and write papers as any other scholar would,” he explained. “Sometimes I forget I’m a Divine Chosen altogether!”

His hand was shaking, and he was having difficulty holding his pen. The dancers were all still staring at him, speaking to him all at the same time. Their words were a chaotic mess in his head, and he couldn’t make out anything they were saying. He gripped his journal tight, and felt his breathing quicken. His heart beat wildly as he tried to keep himself calm.

“...ladies, why don’t we tell Lord Albright about the upcoming festival instead?” Primrose suggested. She was looking at Cyrus like the others, but her gaze and tone were different. She looked and sounded worried about him. Cyrus took a deep breath.

“Ye-yes! I’d love to hear more about the festival!” Cyrus stuttered as he opened his journal back up. He flipped to a new page in its infinite binding, and wrote a note down on the stained paper.

_The Festival of the Gods…_

It was a five day long celebration that was held in Sunshade at the end of each Fall. Every year, the thirteen Dancers of the Gods and Goddesses would travel to the town when Spring was in bloom, where they would then spend the next six months preparing. Dressed in traditional garbs and masks, the women would play out stories that had been passed down through Orsterra for centuries. Though most of the tales that were told changed each year, there was always one constant. The stories on how each god would select their chosen were always depicted.

The blue-haired dancer, Yusufa, spoke up. “Well, we dancers obviously play our roles in the festival, but the people have their role too,” she explained. “While we may be the ones to perform, it’s they who prepare for it.”

“And when we sing the Ballad of the Divine, Lady Primrose selects twelve others to represent the gods beyond Sealticge,” Selena added on. Next to her, Celica let out an annoyed groan.

“And each year, the Priest of Sealticge  _insists_ he be chosen as Dohter,” the redhead complained. Cyrus looked up at the group.

“Oh yes, I’ve heard a bit about the Priest of Sealticge! He is a playwright, is he not?” the Scholar asked. Alephan’s priest, the headmaster of the academy Cyrus taught at, had mentioned bits and pieces of the other priests and priestesses. According to the headmaster, the Priest of Sealticge had been chosen by Primrose when she was sixteen, and was known for his dramatic flair.

“He art a pain in thy ass,” Ami commented disgruntledly. The girls around her laughed, but stopped when Primrose began to glare.

“Simeon is a kind gentleman, and he takes his role as Sealticge’s Priest seriously,” she stated. “Allowing him to act as Dohter is my way of thanking him.”

“Is it possible I’ll be able to meet him?” Cyrus asked the cross-looking chosen. He had hopes knowing the priest represented the god Dohter in the Ballad each year, but he also knew the priest was more than likely a busy man. It was the duty of the Priests and Priestesses to guard the Shrines of Orsterra and interpret messages from the gods. Theses messages were the only way the gods contacted the mortal world outside of the Chosen that they had marked, and were highly important.

The dancer of Aelfric waved her hand. “The priest will occasionally visit during our practice period, and he will be there the entire time of the festival,” she commented. “You’ll have plenty of time to speak with him while you’re with us.”

“And if thou can, please maken him leaveth as fast as possible,” Ami interjected. It was becoming very obvious that Draefendi’s dancer was not fond of the priest. Primrose shot another glare in Ami’s direction.

“I would appreciate it if you spoke kindly to Simeon once he’s in our presence, Aa’miya,” the lead dancer said sternly. “It would not do us any good if you spoke of him the same way you are now when he is with us.”

Feeling how tense the air was getting, Cyrus cleared his throat to interrupt. “No matter the circumstance, I look forward to meeting this Sir Simeon you speak of. I’m sure I’ll have many questions to ask him as I do for all of you,” he stated. There was a grumble from Ami, but she did not speak. Instead, a different dancer tried to change the subject.

“If it’s alright,” Wilhelmina began, “May we possibly know what it is you teach at the Academy? You did say you were a professor, after all, so I’m a bit curious.”

Cyrus’ face lit up with delight. Though he was not one who enjoyed talking about himself, his studies were a different story. It was his duty as Alephan’s Scholar to spread knowledge after all!

“Well you see, much of my research has actually been on the Divine Chosen- who they are, where they come from, and how their gods affect their lives…”

Cyrus spoke of great lengths about his research to the dancers in his presence. It had begun when he was 17, and when he graduated from the academy at 21 he had written his final thesis on the subject. He had made it his life’s goal to record as much detail on the Divine Chosen as he could, especially when the first marked child- Aelfric’s Voice- appeared. He had actually obtained permission to visit her when he was 19 and she 9, and he would occasionally still visit her to make record of her current situation. The two were on rather good terms.

Then there was Bifelgan’s Idol, whom he hadn’t seen in quite some time. He had visited her yearly starting when she was 10 and until she turned 15; however, it had been three years since he had last had the opportunity to visit the girl. Her guard had made it too difficult for him to get in to speak with her, even with his status as Alephan’s Scholar. For the longest time, he had only been able to meet with the two young girls, but now Primrose made a third. It would surely be greatly beneficial to his research.

“We of course know of other Divine Chosen as well, but they fall into a category of their own. For example, we all know that Draefendi’s Companion has been marked and lives somewhere within the Woodlands, but their identity remains to be unknown- accept to Miss A’amiya, of course- due to the nature of their blessing. Then there’s Aeber’s Legacy, who we only know as a man who goes by the title of Prince of Thieves. As a thief, he surely does not want his identity known to outsiders,” Cyrus explained. The dancers nodded dully, and they all seemed to be falling asleep. At first he thought they were not enjoying his lesson and grew mildly offended, but then there was a small noise from behind him.

“Lord Albright, with all due to respect, as fascinating as your lecture has been, you’ve been speaking for the past two hours. I think the dancers all need a break and a good meal,” the black-haired servant- Arianna- mentioned. Cyrus felt his ears turning pink, and he bowed his head down in shame.

“My apologies! I had no idea I had been talking for so long!” he admitted. His students had always enjoyed poking fun at him for his long winded lectures, and some even said he could talk the day away if he tried hard enough. With how long he had spoken here, it seemed he was proving those claims to be true.

“Is it… Is it over?” Wilhelmina asked as she sat up on the fountain. It seemed she had fallen asleep at some point when Cyrus had been going off. He wondered if this was a common occurrence with her husband too, knowing that he and himself were in the same profession.

“I think so…” Yusufa said before stretching and yawning. Celica’s head was resting on the blue-haired dancer’s shoulder, and the redhead was mumbling something to herself.

“I never want… Again…” Dreisang’s dancer muttered quietly. She threw herself across Yusufa’s lap and let out a long groan before rolling herself onto the ground.

“Well Lord Albright, it seems you have quite the talent for storytelling,” Primrose commented before smiling. Despite so much time having passed, she looked to be far more awake than the other girls. “Perhaps this year we could get you to dance and tell stories for us at the festival.”

Cyrus began to blush deeply and waved his hands in front of him. “Oh, no no no! I’ll pass on that!” he quickly responded. “I’m known for my ability to teach and learn, not my dancing! I’d surely ruin the show!”

The dancers who were awake enough began to laugh. “That just means we need to teach you!” Eve said before smiling. Standing up, she ran over and took Cyrus’ hand. “Come on! Go ahead and spin me!”

Blush deepening, Cyrus stepped back. “R-really! I am no good at all!” he insisted.  _What had he gotten himself into!?_

“You need to fix your stance first though!” Selena added on before joining in. Standing behind Cyrus and placing her hands on his hips, she managed to get him to scoot into a different position. He let out an awkward yelp as his footing changed.

“Girls! Leave poor Lord Albright alone!” Primrose requested as she laughed heartily. Even if she was trying to stop them, it was obvious to Cyrus she was very much enjoying what she was witnessing.

“If Lord Albright can speaketh thy ear off for two hours, than we shall maken him dance!” Ami cheered as she moved over to join the other two. This time, she and Selena adjusted his arms, and Eve was able to make a full spin. Her skirt billowed in the wind.

“Now, now, Ladies. Dinner should be ready soon, and I’m sure you’d all like to eat. Surely you’ll have plenty of time to teach Lord Albright to dance during your trip,” Arianna said as she walked over to the group that had surrounded Cyrus. The three of them dispersed, and Cyrus tried his best to regain his balance.

“A-ah, thank you, Miss Arianna,” Cyrus said as he composed himself. He had already been embarrassed enough by making his lecture so long winded, and the girls had admittedly made it a bit worse. He wasn’t used to being… Handled in such a way.

Arianna clapped her hands. “All of you go inside now and gather around the dining area. Lord Albright and Lady Primrose will follow shortly,” she told the group. There was a mixture of different responses from them, but ultimately they all stood up and made their way inside. The black-haired servant followed.

“I hope they weren’t too rough on you,” Primrose said as she approached Cyrus. She was still smiling, and it seemed she was genuinely enjoying herself. “It can be a bit high energy when we all gather together.”

“It’s no worry of mine,” Cyrus assured the noblewoman as he adjusted his sleeves- the girls had pulled them up when moving his arms. “It just lets me know what to expect these next six months.”

Primrose laughed again. “If what Odette said is any indicator of how you tend to be, then you’ll surely have quite the time while you’re with us,” she told Cyrus. In her hand, she still held the letter of introduction she had been given. Cyrus looked at it.

“...is there perhaps a chance I can read what she has written?” Cyrus asked the dancer. Though he had respected Odette’s privacy and never asked of the contents, he had grown curious. He could  _easily_ just ask what it said and come to learn the contents that way, but he’d feel better about it if he had permission to read it first. He was a gentleman, after all.

A smirk spread across Primrose’s lips. “Of course you can read it, Lord Albright,” she said as she handed the letter over to Cyrus before walking towards the doors leading back inside. “Just be warned, my sister has a very… Special way of speaking her praises about you.”

Cyrus smiled in return. “I’m sure she’s worded it well enough! Your sister is an amazing teacher, after all!” he commented. Primrose laughed again before turning and winking.

“Just don’t be upset with her, okay?” she requested before disappearing into the hall. The scholar slowly began to follow.

Cyrus wasn’t quite sure what Primrose was trying to imply with her words- did Odette in truth say something awful about him? He was her favorite student, though! It was not like her to say terrible things about him! There was only one way to find out, however, and that was to read the letter for himself. Unfolding the letter, Cyrus began to read the contents of the first page…

_Dear Cyrus,_

_If you are reading this, then I am very disappointed in you._

_Sincerely,_

_Odette Azelhart_

...it seemed Odette had already realized his curiosity would eventually get the better of him and had made preparations for it.

The rest of the letter, however, was filled exactly what Cyrus has hoped for. Odette spoke her praises of him, but in a far more casual manner than she used normally. Being Primrose’s older sister, after all, Odette probably felt more comfort when speaking to the younger girl. Thankfully though, she did have many good things to say about him, along with a few things he was confused about.  _Make sure he watches himself around the girls_ \- what was that supposed to mean?

No matter what Odette said though, Cyrus knew one thing for certain.

The next six months would truly be an experience he wouldn’t forget!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus begins the third fic in this series!
> 
> Unlike Aeber and Bifelgan, this fic is purely platonic, and is actually a transitional fic! Transitional fics take place between other the fics, and will explore info leading up the romantic fics. As they are only for transitional purposes, these fics will a;so have less chapters than the others, with having about 5-10 chapters each. Only two are planned for now; however, they all will contain important bits of lore and character development. I consider them to be just as important to the series as the romantic ones!
> 
> Poor Cyrus though, what has he gotten himself into? Surely he's going to have an interesting time. Also, his abilities are definitely some of my favorite! They're all so fun, and I'm excited to share the rest of them c:
> 
> Also references galore with names, hoorah! As for the dancers, references for them will eventually be going up over time! A friend of mine has designed them all for me, but they'll be posted on twitter where I will retweet all of them and place them in my collection!


	2. Lesson Two: The Merchantry Festivals of Rippletide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During their journey to Sunshade, Cyrus and the Dancers stop in the seaside town of Rippletide to pick up the next member of the troupe. At first things seem normal for the town, but Cyrus quickly learns they've arrived during one of the busiest times of year: the Spring Merchantry Festival. Dozens of activities are occurring all around town, and Cyrus finds himself wrapped up in something at every turn.

The town of Rippletide. **  
**

It was a bustling port town, filled with many a merchant attempting to sell their wares. A grand dock extended out into the sea, and stalls filled to the brim with goods were lined up one by one. Ships carrying cargo were anchored alongside the dock, and sailors worked to carry heavy crates down to those who were interested in purchasing their contents. In other parts of towns, entertainers worked for coin, and shop workers tried to entice those who passed with wares of their own. No matter where a person went in town, they would surely leave with lighter pockets.

Cyrus, Arianna, and the seven dancers they accompanied arrived in town during the late afternoon. They had left in the early morning, despite a few girls sleeping in, and had traveled by carriage. Geoffrey Azelhart had seen them off as promised, which allowed Cyrus to have a brief conversation with him as he waited for the girls. The two spoke of great lengths of Cyrus’ research- though it had been less than what he had told the dancers the day prior- and of Geoffrey’s current work in Noblecourt. According to Geoffrey, the lead they had received had fallen through, and he would be spending the time during Primrose’s absence continuing to search for the culprit.

When the dancers were ready to depart, Primrose gave her father a heartfelt goodbye and promised to see him once the festival came to a close. Due to the current state of his duties, Geoffrey would not be able to attend the upcoming festival, nor would he be able to visit during the time leading up to it. They would be spending the entire six months apart, much to their dismay.

Once departed, Cyrus found himself sharing a carriage with Primrose, Wilhelmina, and Yusufa. As he had already learned much about them the previous day, he allowed them to talk amongst themselves as he reviewed what he had written. He would ask the occasional question, filling out details as he needed to, but mostly kept to himself. The scholar spent much of the ride sketching detailed portraits of the girls, along with Primrose’s mark. He was unusually quiet, but he tended to be when he was focused.

Once in Rippletide, the carriages made their way through town. Looking out the window, Cyrus could see people on the streets staring as they passed by. Such a sight was surely exciting for the people, as such a grouping meant normally somebody of importance had arrived. He couldn’t be sure whether or not the people were aware whom the carriages carried, but their presence was causing quite a show. There were loud cheers outside as some of the dancers reached out to wave.

About ten minutes after their arrival, the carriages arrived at what would be their lodging for the evening. It was a rather extravagant inn near the beach, and when Cyrus stepped out of the carriage he was overcome with the smell of the salty air. He was feeling stiff, and many of the dancers had already began to stretch their legs. It wasn’t something that would cause problems, however, as a little walking would loosen them all right up. There would be plenty for them to do before they retired for the night, after all!

As the dancers and Cyrus stretched, Arianna entered the inn in order to finalize preparations for the evening. As Primrose’s attendant, Arianna would stay with the chosen dancer while Cyrus would have a room to himself. The rest of the dancers would be sharing rooms in small groups, though Primrose would also be amongst one of them. The young women were discussing their groupings amongst each other, yet nothing was being finalized. They needed to wait on one last factor before deciding.

“Elena will be meeting us at the inn either tonight or tomorrow morning,” Primrose told the professor as she stretched her arms towards the sky. “It sometimes takes her a bit longer to get here depending on the wind and the tides, but she leaves early enough we don’t need to worry about her being late.”

“Ah, so she comes by boat then?” Cyrus asked as he took a moment to stretch out his legs. It made sense knowing how many ships came through the area, though he had rarely ever seen ships carrying passengers during the brief times he had visited. Normally they were all under the use of merchants and not transporting passengers.

Primrose brought her arms back down. “She’s originally from Goldshore, which is a two or three day ride by carriage, but she prefers to go by sea,” she answered. “She sails up to Grandport first, and then here to Rippletide from there. It’s about a four or five day trip depending on the sailing conditions, but she insists on sailing instead.”

Nodding in understanding, Cyrus opened his journal and made note of the info he was given. “I’m sure I’ll have plenty of questions about her reasonings once she gets here,” he stated as he wrote. “Though I’m shocked any ship ever leaves Grandport nowadays, knowing the laws there and the state it’s in.”

It was common knowledge that the city of Grandport, despite its name, was a rather poor and rundown community. Though legends stated that it was once the home to the Goddess Bifelgan and her brother, it was now overrun with criminals and plagued with homelessness. Ancient texts described it as being a profitable merchantry and trading capital, but no sign of that past remained in the modern day. A single family, however, had managed to stay wealthy despite the town’s status, and it was they who decided what ships could and couldn’t dock in the area. From what Cyrus had last heard, they had banned any merchantry ship from coming to port unless they contained expensive goods.

Looking somewhat grim, Primrose held her hands together. “Elena’s vessel is a special case. A group of local sailors take her, and they receive special permission from Lord Wyndham to dock there during her travels,” she explained. “Elena is quite the rulebreaker, however, and often has the sailors sneak cargo into town in order to give supplies to those who need it.”

Cyrus gave Primrose a look of concern. “While that is an admirable deed, what would happen if she got caught? Surely Lord Wyndham would not be so appreciative of her using her status to break a law, no matter how questionable that law is,” he commented. Primrose, however, laughed before winking.

“Trust me, Elena isn’t one to get caught,” Primrose insisted, “And with her, a few broken rules is the least of your worries.”

“Oh dear Alephan…” Cyrus muttered to himself. With how the other dancers had treated him, he wasn’t sure how much more he can handle. They were all sweet and charming women, but they were all far more energetic and active than he was.

“Primrose! Sir Albright! Let’s go! The evening festivities will be starting soon, and we don’t want to miss them!”

Cyrus turned to the group of dancers who were standing nearby. Coin pouches in hand, they were gossiping amongst each other with the exception of Celica, who was looking over at the two Chosen. The dancers all seemed ready to explore the many stalls out on the dock.

“Festivities? Oh, are we perhaps passing through during one of the Merchantry Festivals?” Cyrus enthusiastically asked the group. “I’m always so wrapped up in my studies I’ve never had a chance to attend one before!”

Along with having an abundance of shops, the town of Rippletide was also known for two other things. The first being that it was the home to Bifelgan’s Idol, a young girl simply referred to as the Living Goddess, and the second being the grand festivals that were held in Bifelgan’s honor each year. There were three in total, with each one corresponding to important dates relating to the Goddess. One in mid-spring represented Bifelgan’s birth, another in late Summer represented the day she first began protecting the people from the God Aeber, and lastly one in Mid-Winter represented the day she drove said God back to the Divine Plane. Records showed that a fourth festival used to be celebrated in the Autumn, but what it represented and why it was removed from the rotation were unknown.

“The Living Goddess of Rippletide will be out telling fortunes to a lucky handful of people tonight,” Yusufa revealed. “We’ve been hoping that at least one of us will get the chance to meet her, and that our fortune will be read!”

“Untillen then, thy purses needeth emptying!” Ami cheered while holding her coin pouch in the air. The Lynx next to her meowed before stretching, and it seemed the animal currently had less energy than their owner.

“Now ladies, we need to make sure we don’t spend too much money here. It isn’t our only stop, after all,” Primrose pointed out. Eve, however, let out a boisterous laugh and placed her hand on her hip.

“Loosen up, Primmy! You know this is the best part of the trip! There’s nothing wrong with a bunch of young, pretty women buying pretty things while almost all the items are half off!” the taller dancer responded. “Besides, this is the only place with stuff worth buying! Yeah, Cobbleston and Sunshade have stuff, but  _this_ is a festival! There’s plenty more to choose from here!”

“I, for one, think it’s an excellent idea,” Cyrus told the group. “I’d love to record info on the Spring Merchantry Festival while I have the chance, and perhaps something here will catch my eye as well. I’ve been needing a new set of inking pens, after all.”

Letting out a happy sigh, Primrose shook her head. “Alright, alright, you win. As long as we’re here, I might as well look for a gift to send back home to father,” she decided. Cheering in excitement, the dancers separated into small groupings and ran off to the docks. Primrose and Cyrus followed, making their way into the large crowd.

The first thing Cyrus noted was that there was indeed a large amount of items for sale, and many stalls had signs saying that their product was being sold for less than normal. There were assortments of strange fruits, small trinkets that were said to bring wealth and fortune among other things, and more practical items such as clothing or household wares. Everywhere Cyrus looked, there was something new that he hadn’t seen before, and he found himself stopping at a few stalls to look over what was for sale. Eventually, he found himself purchasing a case of high quality inking pens made in Sainstbridge, with each one having a symbol of a different god on it.

Brushing his bangs with his hand to keep his mark hidden from view, Cyrus continued to wander. He spotted one dancer- Selena- talking with a merchant in attempts to get a better deal, and another dancer- Ami- eating as much food as she could from a quaint stall with roasted meat. Primrose herself seemed to be admiring some jewelry handcrafted in Bolderfall, and the other girls were nowhere to be found. He assumed they were all on another part of the dock observing some of the other items that were on display. There was also the possibility they were enjoying some of the entertainment that the festival could bring.

As he passed one of the stalls selling small trinkets, something caught Cyrus’ eye. They were beautifully crafted pendants that seemed to be made out of some kind of geode, and each one had a symbol carved into them. Intrigued, Cyrus walked over.

“Fascinating…” he said to himself as he went to grab one of the pendants. The symbol on it appeared to be a fish that was growing wings instead of fins and was trying to escape from harsh waves.

“Are you perhaps a fan of Woodland Charms?”

Cyrus jumped and looked to the side. Standing next to him was a merchant dressed in rather warm looking furs and handcrafted leather. On her shoulder, a small, slender rodent seemed to be enjoying itself.

“Is that what these are?” Cyrus asked the merchant. “I’ve heard of them before, but never had a chance to see one for myself.”

The merchant laughed before smiling. “Handcrafted by yours truly. I was born and raised in the woodlands, but I dropped the manner of speech when it was making my merchantry work difficult,” she revealed. Cyrus noticed she was brushing part of her hair back with her hand.

“Oh, how wonderfully intriguing! I’ve heard that they’re terribly hard to make, but the end product here looks absolutely incredible!” he expressed. Looking at the others, he took notice to all of the different shapes and markings of each of the pendants.

“The one you were looking at is used to bring good fortune while the wearer is on the sea,” she revealed before pointing to another depicting a flower blooming under a full moon, “and this one is used to help travelers find their way during the night.”

“You are a very talented young woman for being able to make such an incredible item,” Cyrus commented. He watched as the merchant’s cheeks grew pink, though he couldn’t be certain to as of why. Surely she wasn’t embarrassed over such a fine product!

“Would… Would you perhaps like one?” she asked the scholar. Her demeanor had suddenly changed drastically, and she was avoiding Cyrus’ gaze. He hoped that he hadn’t somehow upset her.

“I would love to take one in order to study your fine craftsmanship!” he answered while reaching for his coin pouch. “Is there any specific one you’d like to recommend to me? I’m not picky- I’m a scholar you see, and all of this is quite fascinating to me- so I will gladly take whichever one you think is the best fit!”

The merchant turned a deeper shade of pink. “Hold on. I think I have the perfect one,” she told Cyrus as she went to the back of the stall. Leaning down, she rummaged through a box before pulling out a dual-colored pendant. Heading back over, she handed it to him. “Free of charge.”

Cyrus gave the merchant a look of surprise. “Oh no! I could never take such a thing for free!” he insisted. Looking at the charm, he saw that its symbol depicted both a tree and the sun, and its shape was almost akin to that of an arrowhead.

“Please, take it. I insist,” the merchant said before gesturing towards her other wares. “There’s plenty here for me to sell, and I’ve made quite enough coin today as it is.”

“...if you are certain, I will take it without payment,” Cyrus said before putting the charm in his pocket. “I thank you very much for your humble gift, and I’ll see about getting my companions to shop here as well in return.”

“Ah, thank you kindly,” the merchant said before smiling softly. She seemed very pleased with Cyrus’ offer and was twirling a strand of hair with her finger. “If it’s alright, may I-”

“Sir Albright! We’ve found Elena!”

Turning quickly, Cyrus could see some of the other dancers down the way. They were calling to him, and gesturing for him to come down and meet them. Behind them, a crowd of people was forming.

“Ah, I’m so sorry, but it’s seems I’m needed elsewhere at the moment,” Cyrus informed the merchant as he turned back and frowned. “I’ll try my best to bring my companions by later, but for now, I bid you farewell!”

Leaving the stall in a rush, Cyrus headed towards the dancers. They were continuously glancing behind them, and their smiles were wide. Once he managed to reach them, they dragged him into the crowd that was forming and towards a makeshift stage made of crates. On top of one of the crates, a young woman with rather voluminous hair stood with her hand in the air. A small tin for collecting leaves was placed on the ground nearby.

“Today, we pray to our Goddess the Lady Bifelgan!” the woman shouted to the crowd. “For it is her who makes such beautiful festivals possible!”

The crowd began to cheer in response, and from a nearby corner a violin began to play. The woman on the crates tapped her foot for a moment before leaping forward and starting to spin. Her dance had begun, and with it, a short song that reached the heavens.

_“For wealth and gold we pray to thee,_

_The lady of our fortune!_

_The Goddess who struck down a thief,_

_Whose heart was filled with greed!_

_Bringing us a sacred wind,_

_And showing us our paths to take!_

_Ah, the Lady Bifelgan,_

_By you we are blessed!”_

As if it were their cue, the other dancers who accompanied Cyrus rushed to the front of the stage, joining in on the song and dance. The crowd of people gasped loudly, and there were cheers as each girl began to twirl. Cyrus could see that the tin was already starting to get full, and more gold was on its way.

_“For wealth and gold we pray to thee,_

_The lady of the high waves!_

_The Goddess who struck down a thief,_

_Who’s fallen from his grace!_

_The shadows you save us from,_

_Will try to take your heart again!_

_Oh, the Lady Bifelgan,_

_Your love is not lost!”_

The group continued to dance, and their singing became louder. The verses were repeated, with the dancers singing individual ones in pairs, and the crowd sang along with them. When the versus were finished, six of the seven dancers dropped to their knees and gestured towards the one on top of the crates. She clasped her hands in prayer before reciting the final verse. It was a fortune Bifelgan had once told long ago; the last one she was ever thought to have made.

_“Winds will blow,_

_Fires will burn._

_Shadows will twist,_

_Emotions will rise._

_The telling of a fortune,_

_Will heal a broken spirit._

_And a truth will be revealed,_

_For the Lady of a pure heart!”_

As the song came to an end, the crowd burst into applause. The dancers gave a sweeping bow, and Cyrus joined in on the clapping. Taking the tin off the ground, the new addition to the group of dancers did one final pass to collect what remaining coin she could. Many of who she passed had money to spare, and the tin was growing heavy with coin. It was at the risk of overflowing.

With her final pass finished, the dancer approached a small girl in the crowd. The girl was frail, and her clothes seemed to be nothing more than rags. Kneeling down, the dancer handed the girl the tin.

“A blessing from the Goddess Bifelgan, sweet girl,” the dancer told the child. “May it bring you and your family good fortune.”

Beaming, the child ran off. The dancer once again stood up and returned to her group, who then gave one last bow. There was a final moment of clapping, and the crowd slowly began to disperse. The young women of the troupe began talking amongst each other, though the occasional outsider would approach to ask questions. They laughed and smiled, thoroughly enjoying what their performance had brought.

“So, did you enjoy your preview of what’s to come?” Primrose asked as she stood next to Cyrus. She was the only dancer who had not joined in on the performance, instead choosing to stay back and watch as her friends spun and sang. Cyrus turned to her.

“It was quite a sight to behold!” he commented cheerfully. “Though I must ask, was there a reason you chose not to partake? I’m sure you would have been a lovely addition.”

Primrose smiled. “This dance is a prayer to the Lady Bifelgan, and is in turn not mine to sing. The presence of Sealticge’s Dancer would take away from that focus, so it’s much more appropriate for me to watch from the side,” she explained. Cyrus raised an eyebrow.

“Interesting…” he said as he grabbed his journal from his coat pocket. “I understand your concerns, though I think in the future it wouldn’t hurt to join. Some ancient records suggest that Sealticge and Bifelgan had a rather interesting relationship, you know.”

“It was Bifelgan who told Sealticge that she was pregnant with the apothecary’s child. As the Goddess of Fertility, Bifelgan had a sense for such things,” Primrose revealed. Cyrus’ eyes lit up with excitement, and he furiously began writing the info he was given.

“Absolutely fascinating! Being the descendant of the Goddess must have its benefits when it comes to her history!” Cyrus commented as he finished his note. He had purposely chosen to use the pen decorated with Sealticge’s symbol, as he felt it to be the most fitting.

“There are indeed many things that my family knows, but that info is not easily shared,” Primrose responded. She was looking towards the other dancers now, and he noticed her expression was a bit somber. “Perhaps somewhere down the line, I’ll be willing to tell you more.”

“I would be absolutely honored!” Cyrus told her with his normal enthusiastic manner. He wasn’t sure why she seemed as somber as she did, but he thought it was in his best interest not to pry. If he wanted to learn more from her, it was better for him to be on her good side!

“Oooh, is this the legendary Sir Cyrus Albright?”

Cyrus turned his attention away again- it seemed tonight was filled with people wanting to speak with him. In front of him was the dancer with the voluminous hair. She was looking at him and smiling, and something about her demeanor seemed… Odd.

“Ah, yes, that is indeed who I am! Though I don’t think of myself as somebody who can be considered ‘legendary’,” Cyrus answered. “I assume you are Bifelgan’s Dancer, Elena?”

The dancer winked. “In the flesh!” she confirmed. “This will actually only be my third festival with the troupe, but I promise you that I’m no slacker.”

Cyrus nodded in response and opened his journal back to the page with details on each girl. “Your sister was in an accident, correct?” he asked. The dancer’s cheerful demeanor became more serious, and she grabbed her arm.

“Yeah, she was. Soleil was on her way to meet with a friend of hers in the Cliftlands when the carriage she was in veered off course. Nobody knows what happened, but apparently the horses got spooked and ran down the wrong path. They took a tight turn, and the carriage fell down into an area below. It wasn’t a huge drop, but it was enough to cause my sister life changing injuries,” the young woman revealed. She was frowning.

_Ah, so that’s why she preferred to come by boat._

“I’m so sorry such a horrible thing happened…” Cyrus said as he closed his journal. Out of respect for the dancer’s sister, he decided it was better if he didn’t write the details about the accident. Even with his research, he felt that only making mention of the accident was sufficient enough.

Elena shook her head and once again smiled. “It’s all in the past now,” she said before wrapping her arm around his. “What I’m more concerned about right now is the fact my friends didn’t tell me how handsome our company would be!”

Cyrus felt his cheeks turn pink. “Excu... Excuse me?” he stuttered in shock. The young dancer was squeezing his arm, and he could hear the other women beginning to laugh.

“Not as much muscle as I’d like in a man, but I can make it work!” she said before winking again. Cyrus felt himself clamming up, and was very much feeling awkward.

“I, um… While I do appreciate your… Comments..? I must inform you that I turned 30 half a year ago, making me ten years your senior,” he told the girl. He could feel her let go of him and watched as she stepped back. Her face was white as a sheet but was slowly turning its own shade of pink.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” she said before covering her face with her hands. “I would have never had done that if I had known that! It’s not proper for a young lady like myself to date somebody of your age!”

The dancers nearby were still laughing, and another one chimed in. “Elena, aren’t you also engaged? You shouldn’t be trying to flirt when you’re going to be married soon!”

The embarrassed dancer turned towards the others. “It’s an arranged marriage, and nothing is official yet!” she complained. “I’m allowed a little freedom until then!”

At that point, Cyrus didn’t know which was worse: the fact she was so young or the fact she was engaged. He would never romance a girl of only twenty years (he’d prefer a woman much closer to his age), and he definitely would not romance a woman with a betrothed. In fact, romance was barely ever on his mind! He was always so busy with his studies, he rarely ever thought about his personal life! The closest he had ever come to such a thing was Odette joking that he should marry Draefendi’s Companion if he ever met them!

“Why don’t we focus on something else for now?” Primrose suggested to the group. “Bifelgan’s Idol will be appearing soon, and you all mentioned you’re hoping that at least one of you gets their fortune told.”

“That’s right! It’s almost time!” Celica reiterated as she looked around. The crowds were starting to move again, and another commotion was beginning to occur, this one much grander than the last.

“Come on, we need to find a good spot if we even want a chance!” Yusufa said as she gestured the group to follow her. She and the six others scurried away, while Cyrus and Primrose followed once more.

“Do you want to have your fortune told, Miss Azelhart?” Cyrus asked the chosen dancer as they walked. The dancer thought for a moment, but ultimately shook her head.

“I think life is more enjoyable when there’s a bit of mystery to it. Much of my day to day is the same whether I am at home or preparing for a festival, but when something new does happen, it becomes special. It’s much more interesting not knowing when it’ll occur,” she explained. “Though there  _are_ some mysteries that I wish could be solved in my life, I’m not sure a fortune is what I need to solve them.”

Cyrus gave an understanding nod. “I, for one, wouldn’t mind it just to see the process, but you make a very good point: sometimes it’s better not to know. For example, what if you receive a bad fortune? You’ll spend your time dreading the day that it comes true, and much of your life will be lost,” he added. Admittedly, he lived with a very similar cloud in the back of his mind, but it wasn’t because of a bad fortune. It was due to more personal reasons.

“You’re a smart man, Sir Albright, but that is to be expected of Alephan’s Scholar,” Primrose complimented. Cyrus smiled in response, but it was admittedly a bit forced. He really wasn’t fond of talking about his status as a Divine Chosen.

After making their way through the crowd, Cyrus and the dancers found themselves in front of an extravagant home. Guards surrounded the entrance, and hundreds of spectators were pushing and shoving each other to get a better view. Off to the side, two nobles stood next to a pair of guards, who looked rather nervous in their current position. He wondered if the two nobles were the Living Goddess’ parents and if the guards were possibly new hires. It didn’t make sense to Cyrus, however, since he doubted such powerful people would be put under the protection of such inexperienced individuals.

“Here she comes! The Living Goddess of Rippletide! The Lady Bifelgan!”

A hush fell over the crowd as the front door began to creak open. From within the home stepped out a tall, blond man who carried a young woman in his arms. The young woman did not look at the crowd, and instead kept her attention on the man who was carrying her. Around Cyrus, those present amongst the crowd began to whisper. Though many people were speaking at once, Cyrus was able to make a few of the comments out.

“It really is her!”

“Balogar’s Lord is such a gentleman! The way he carries her shows just how much she means to him!”

“Do you think I’ll have my fortune told, papa? I’ve been a good boy this year with my prayers!”

“Hm, so this is Rippletide’s greatest treasure…”

The crowd began shifting again, and quite a few people were bumping into Cyrus. It was rather uncomfortable, but he tried his best not to be pushed away by the crowd. To keep himself from being separated, he put his hands on the shoulders of two of the dancers, who turned out to be Celica and Ami.

“I swear, Balogar’s Lord becomes handsomer with each passing year!” Celica commented as Cyrus moved closer to the two. “I’d be jealous of any person he chooses to take as his lover!”

“And the way he carries the Lady Bifelgan… I would love to have somebody carry me like that someday,” Selena said from somewhere nearby. It was hard to tell where all the girls were with how much the crowd was moving.

“Rumor says he’d only ever marry somebody as dedicated to the Lady Bifelgan as he is,” Yusufa added on. “Maybe as Bifelgan’s Dancer, you’ll have a chance with him, Elena.”

“Hey, I didn’t know that Sir Albright was already in his thirties! Besides, Balogar’s Lord is even older than he is!” Elena complained in response. Cyrus began laughing, and he looked to one of the dancers supporting him. With such cheerfulness in the air, he wanted to join in on the fun.

“And what of you, Ami?” he asked. “Do you have any comments you’d like to make about Balogar’s Lord?”

There was a quick laugh from the dancer, who turned enough to look at Cyrus. “Though I doth not blamen mein friends for thy reaction, tis’ not the same for myself,” she told him. “Tis’ women, not men, that catchen mein fancy.”

Cyrus began to smile before nodding his head. “My apologies for making assumptions!” he told her. Ami was smiling as well, however, so he knew that there had been no offense taken.

The group watched as the Lady Bifelgan was placed down in a raised chair and a table was moved in front of her. Cards and other items used for fortune telling were placed on top of the table, and the young woman stared down at them. Cyrus noticed she did not attempt to look at the crowd in front of her, and her expression seemed quite sad. It was obvious to him she was not enjoying herself.

Balogar’s Lord cleared his throat. “Residents and travelers of Rippletide! Tonight we honor the Goddess Bifelgan and her chosen idol! Tonight, thirteen lucky people will be selected to have their fortune told!” he announced loudly. He was holding a spear in one hand, and a sword was visible on his hip. He was well prepared to fight if need be.

Around Cyrus, more people began to comment in low whispers.

“Thirteen? That’s more than last time!”

“Kind of funny, isn’t it? Thirteen gods, thirteen chosen, thirteen fortunes?”

“Oh come on now, you know that Galdera’s Chosen doesn’t really exist!”

More guards stepped forward, and Balogar’s Lord gripped his spear tighter. “The Lady Bifelgan herself will be choosing tonight’s lucky few!” he continued. “Those who try to cause trouble to have their fortune told, however, will be escorted out of town!”

Bifelgan’s Idol looked up. From where Cyrus stood, he was unable to clearly see how she had changed since he last saw her, but he knew it was the same girl he had visited years before. She  _was_ smiling now, but it wasn’t because she was happy. Cyrus had seen fake smiles plenty of times before, and he knew for certain this one was fake. It was the same smile his mother used to give him.

...he didn’t really want to think of such things at the moment.

To distract himself, Cyrus instead turned his focus to the thirteen people the idol chose. The first person called upon was an elderly cleric who hobbled as he walked, asking the Lady Bifelgan about a pilgrimage he wanted to take. She warned him not to do so, as his fortune predicted a terrible fate. Following him was a sickly teen asking about their health, which had steadily been on the decline. The idol told them they would recover, but only if they ventured to the Riverlands. As she finished each fortune, the crowd would clap, but they would also grow restless as they awaited to see who was called next.

A woman dressed her best for the festival; a poor, single mother; a fisherman; a young boy… All were called up in order to have their fortunes told. Placing cards down in front of them, the Lady Bifelgan did as she was asked. She told the fortunes loudly, making it a spectacle for all of those present. Those called up would thank her, and then she would move on to the next one. The number of spots left was slowly dwindling.

Then, in a whirlwind of excitement, the next person was chosen. The Lady Bifelgan had a guard approach Selena, who froze in shock when she realized what was going on. Her friends pushed her forward, and she stumbled over to where the idol sat. The dancer was hesitant, and unlike those who came before her, whispered her request into the young woman’s ear. The fortune was given quietly and privately- the other dancers would surely question Selena about it later.

As Selena returned to the spot where she had been standing, the idol continued on. A rather pompous noblewoman with a shrill voice was called up next, followed by a more reserved apothecary who had fallen onto hard times. Much to Cyrus’ surprise, the merchant he had spoken to earlier was also called, and she chose to have her fortune told privately as well. The last three selected were a gruff looking mercenary; a young, blond man with a feathered cap; and to the surprise of the crowd, one of the idol’s own guards. All the fortunes were unique, but Cyrus noted the young man’s was rather vague and strange.

When the last fortune was finished, Balogar’s Lord thanked everyone in the crowd for coming before taking Bifelgan’s Idol back inside. The two nobles and their guards followed, and the guards who remained outside began to clean up. There was a bit of discussion amongst the crowd- mostly about the disappointment of not being selected- and it slowly began to disperse. Cyrus was making notes on everything he had witnessed, and the dancers were waiting for a path to clear. As he wrote, however, Cyrus felt somebody bump into him.

“Ah, sorry about that,” a hooded figure said as they brushed past him. They were rather suspicious looking, but Cyrus reminded himself travelers from all walks of life came to these festivals. He shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

“No worries! This place is rather crowded after all! I’m sure I’ll bump into quite a few people of my own!” Cyrus said before smiling. The hooded figure didn’t look at him, however, and instead continued on their way. They didn’t seem to have any interest in conversing.

It was then, however, that Cyrus realized something.

His pockets had suddenly grown lighter.

“...WAIT, COME BACK!” Cyrus shouted as he chased after the hooded figure. The crowd was still thick, and the pickpocket responded to Cyrus’ shout by speeding up. They were pushing people out of the way, and Cyrus was quickly losing sight of them. The scholar could have cast some sort of elemental or debuff spell on them to make them easier to catch, but with how many people were in the area, it would be too risky. He didn’t want to risk harming others.

By the time Cyrus found a break in the crowd, the pickpocket was gone. He sighed loudly, and checked his pockets to see how much had been taken. He was a smart man and didn’t carry all of his leaves on his person, but the amount he had on him for personal spending was gone. It seemed his coin pouch, however, was the only thing missing. He was relieved knowing his new pens were left untouched.

“Sir Albright, are you alright!?”

Cyrus turned towards Primrose as she and the other dancers ran towards him. They looked worried, and it was safe to assume it was because he had run off yelling. He frowned at them.

“It seems I’ve become the victim of a pickpocket,” he told the group. “They bumped into me and stole my coin pouch before running off into the crowd.”

“That’s terrible!” Yusufa said as she covered her mouth. The other woman were slightly wide-eyed, and they all began checking their own pockets and pouches to make sure nothing of theirs had been taken when they weren’t looking.

“Which way didst the thief go?” Ami asked as her lynx’s tail straightened up. The beast seemed to be ready to join its master on a hunt for the culprit. “Mein companion and I will surely findeth them!”

Cyrus placed his hand underneath his chin. “Unfortunately I lost sight of the culprit amongst the crowd, so at this point I should probably accept my loss,” he commented. The culprit was probably already long gone, and finding them amongst such a large sea of people would be impossible. Despite his loss, however, Cyrus was not too worried about his funds. He had made sure to stash some extra cash in his travel pack, which was currently with the dancers’ belongings at the inn, and had plenty for the rest of the journey.

“I guess it just serves as a warning for future festivals. These kind of things always have a thief or two, and the one in Sunshade is no exception,” Eve mentioned as she pulled her coin pouch from her top. She had a cheeky grin. “You’ll just have to be more mindful where you put your money. I recommend keeping it somewhere where only you’d normally be digging.”

Cyrus felt himself become slightly flustered and turned away. “Ah, yes… I’ll have to, uh… Think about doing that in the future,” he said before clearing his throat. The dancers were giggling again, much to Cyrus’ embarrassment. Primrose stepped over and placed her hand on his arm.

“Why don’t we all go back to the inn?” Primrose suggested before turning towards the group. “I think we’re all done shopping for now, and I don’t want to risk anybody else having their money taken.”

“Aaaw, but I’ve barely had any time to shop!” Elena complained before pouting slightly. The way she was acting now, Cyrus could tell that she was indeed both very young and troublesome. “Can we pleeeease shop for a little bit longer? Just so I can get something nice?”

Primrose sighed. “Alright, but only another half hour. After that, I want us all to meet up back at the inn,” she said sternly. The way she was acting made her seem like she was everyone’s big sister, which Cyrus found rather endearing. She surely cared for the other dancers, and they were probably as close as any siblings would be.

With another cheer, the dancers headed back to the docks for one last round of shopping. While Primrose chose to follow to keep some of the younger dancers out of trouble, Cyrus decided it was in his best interest to head back to the inn on his own. There wasn’t much he could really do without money.

When he arrived back at the inn, he found Arianna waiting the group’s return. She was surprised to see Cyrus on his own, but he quickly explained what happened with the pickpocket. The servant felt bad for him, but said that the rest of his belongings were safely in his room. It seemed during the festivities, she had spent her time talking with the owners and helped to prep the rooms. As thanks for her hard work, Cyrus offered to dine with her in the inn’s built in café meant for guests.

As they ate, they spoke of many different things. Arianna told Cyrus what it was like working for the Azelharts, and Cyrus mentioned his work as a professor. They swapped stories between each other, and Cyrus learned quite the handful about Primrose and the Dancers. The dancers held pride in Primrose for being a Divine Chosen, but she treated them all with the same pride in return. They were all part of Primrose’s family, and they meant everything to her.

About halfway through their meal, the dancers arrived and joined them. They were chatting joyously, and many of them carried cloth bags containing purchased goods. More food was brought out, and Cyrus found himself in the middle of dozens of conversations. One dancer would tell him something, and as she ate, another would tell him something else. There was much to be said about the evening.

“So… Why don’t we address the behemoth in the room?” Celica asked before taking a bite of some bread. Cyrus looked at her and furrowed his brow.

“May I ask what you mean by that?” he asked in response. Celica took a moment to finish chewing and swallow before smiling and gesturing towards Selena.

“Miss Selena here had her fortune told tonight!” she reminded everybody. “Of course, we have to know what it was about, especially since she was being so secretive about it!”

The shy dancer began to blush. “Oh, um… It’s nothing important…” she insisted as she looked away. Her eyes were occasionally glancing to the side, and she was smiling to herself.

“If it wasn’t so important, you would have let the Living Goddess say your fortune out loud!” Elena pointed out as she leaned over towards her companion. “It’s gotta be something good if you wanted to keep it private!”

“And we’re your friends, aren’t we? We promise you can tell us anything and we won’t speak a word of it to anyone else!” Eve added on from nearby. Selena’s blush deepened, and she covered her face with her hands. She mumbled something softly to herself.

“Speak up, dear. We can’t hear you,” Wilhelmina said before taking a drink. Selena was quiet for another moment before uncovering her face and taking a deep breath.

“I asked for a fortune about love!” she admitted with a slightly cracking voice. Some of the dancers gasped, and Selena covered her face again.

“Oh, are you looking for love, Selena?” Primrose asked with a gentle smile. “Or is there perhaps somebody you already fancy?”

Selena fidgeted. “I, um… I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” she said as she seemingly began to curl up within herself. “I kept it private for a reason, you know…”

“Come on, you have to tell us!” Elena said as she ran over and took Selena’s hands. “We could totally help set you up with somebody if you wanted us to!”

“No, no… It’s not that easy…” Selena said as her daze darted away again. Cyrus could tell she was uncomfortable, and cleared his throat in attempts to bring the focus towards him.

“My dear dancers, I know you mean well, but you should not pressure Selena to speak of her feelings when she obviously doesn’t want to,” he stated. “Love is a beautiful thing, especially when it’s blossoming in the hearts of fair young women such as yourselves, but it is also fragile and delicate. It needs to be allowed to grow and bloom naturally, or else it may wither and die if forced out too early. If Selena does indeed fancy someone, she should be allowed to let her feelings be secret until she’s ready to speak of them on her own terms.”

It was something Cyrus had once read in a book, and he felt it was something that Selena would appreciate hearing. Love was not to be rushed, and feelings were meant to be shared only when a person was comfortable. Speaking of it too early could bring resentment, though too late could also bring regret. It was a delicate balance, but he didn’t want to scare the poor girl by saying waiting too long could also have consequences. He thought it was just better saying to do things in her own time.

“Professor…” Ami began from across the room. “Can I asketh thee something now?”

Cyrus turned towards the dancer and cocked his head. “Yes, Miss A’amiya?” he asked. She was giving him a rather strange look- in fact, all of the women in the room were.

“How art thee  _not_ married?” Ami asked in complete bafflement. Cyrus blinked in surprise before giving her a questioning look.

“I don’t… I don’t see how my marital status is suddenly relevant,” he responded. What did him telling the girls not to pressure Selena have anything to do with whether he was married or not? It certainly didn’t make any sense to him.

“Um… How about we discuss what you all bought tonight instead?” Arianna suddenly suggested. “Cyrus told me that you were all insistent you get to shop for a bit longer, so I’m sure you’ve all found something nice?”

The servant was indeed right; the dancers had all surely bought something while they were on the docks. They had all spent so much time amongst the stalls, and the bags were proof enough that some spending had occurred. Even he had a few items that he wouldn’t mind sharing with the group.

As dinner was finished, the dancers began sharing the items they purchased. While many of the items were of personal value, there were also items of very high interest to Cyrus. During the opening act of the festival in Sunshade, twelve of the dancers were tasked with thanking their assigned god in prayer and leaving an offering at a small altar. There was one for each god minus the Fallen God, whose dancer would instead recite her own prayer that his seal would not break. It was said the festival did not truly start until the prayers and offerings were all given.

Rummaging through his own purchases, Cyrus pulled out the pendant he had received. Looking at it he realized he had forgotten to return to the merchant’s stall as promised, but it had slipped his mind after his coin pouch had been stolen. Feeling a bit guilty, he held the pendant in his hand and looked at it. The symbol on it still intrigued him, but he was unsure if he would learn what it meant any time soon. There was one person, however, he could still ask.

“Ah, Miss A’amiya, since you’re from the Woodlands, can you perhaps help me with something?” he asked the dancer as he approached her. “I received this pendant free of charge from a merchant earlier, but I never had a chance to ask her what the symbol meant.”

Quickly glancing at the pendant, Ami smiled. “Ah, so thou met F’reeda as wellen? She art a sweet maiden, and I purchased a charm of mein own.”

Cyrus nodded. “Ah yes, indeed I did,” he answered. It seemed during the dancer’s time with the merchant, the dancer had managed to learn their name. “I can recognize the two parts of the symbol as simple renditions of Alephan and Draefendi’s symbols, but the meaning behind it is lost to me.” He knew the symbols were commonly placed together for worship, but this wasn’t a design he had personally seen before. Perhaps it was native to only a specific part of the woods.

It was then that Ami began to laugh. “Thou apparently hath more luck with the ladies than I” she stated. Cyrus gave the dancer a confused look, and she gave him a devious wink in return. “Tis’ a symbol meant to bring luck in romance. F’reeda must hath fancied thou if she gaven it to thee for free!”

_...oh._

Cyrus’ felt himself turn a deep shade of red, and he could hear the other dancers begin laughing along with Ami. Though neither Primrose or Arianna joined in, they were still smiling. It seemed his troubles with women for the night were far from over, and it wasn’t going to get any easier.

“I, ah… Thank you, Miss A’amiya, for the explanation,” he said as he put the pendant back in his pocket. He was surely feeling something similar to what Selena had earlier, and it was truly not a nice feeling. He could feel his heart racing.

“Anytime, Professor,” Ami said as she grinned widely. The girls were whispering again, and Cyrus could feel himself starting to clam up. He was starting to feel sick.

“I think… I will be retiring to my room for the evening,” he said as he gathered his journal and pens. The redness in his face was gone, but he was growing pale instead. He could feel the eyes of the dancers on him, and he quickly stumbled out of the dining area while knocking a chair or two over. The dancers called out to him with sudden concern, but he quickly made his way to the room where he’d be staying that night.

All alone.

Where nobody could look at him.

Taking a deep breath, Cyrus locked the door and sat on the bed. With shaky hands, he took off his scholar robes and threw them on the ground before untying his hair and taking off his boots. He rubbed his eyes and dragged his hands down his face, sighing as he did so.

Cyrus was used to having attention be on him, but certain kinds he couldn’t take. The first was any attention to his status as a Divine Chosen, and the second was anything related to his horrible obliviousness towards romance. The earlier moment with Elena had been fine due to him being aware of the situation, but being laughed at for being oblivious to the merchant’s interest… It had been uncomfortable; especially with such a large group. Even now, he felt the dancers’ eyes were still on him.

Reaching towards his nearby travel pack, Cyrus picked the item up and began rummaging through it. He took out a rather small journal, which compared to the one he wrote his notes in, was in much better shape, and placed it down next to him. Grabbing the pen marked with Alephan’s symbol, he opened the journal and tried to write about the day’s events. A lot had happened that was worth mentioning.

Though the journal he normally wrote his notes in was vast and would never run out of pages, it was not meant to contain records of his day to day. The Lost Knowledge was a record of all important aspects of Orsterran history, culture, and legends, not Cyrus’ life. That was why he also carried a smaller journal, a diary of sorts, in order to record those aspects. Here, he could express his feelings, his desires, really anything he wanted to without worry. It was how he managed to escape reality at the end of the day.

_“Today I attended my first merchantry festival, along with meeting the Dancer of Bifelgan.”_

He paused. Though a lot  _had_ happened, he wasn’t sure  _exactly_ what he wanted to write about. There had been his new pens, the pendant, and even the fortunes… But nothing felt right as he tried to write it down. He found himself scratching out a lot of what he put, and even tearing out a page or two after attempting to draw something instead. In defeat, he threw himself back on the bed and spread his arms out wide.

“For somebody tasked to spread knowledge by Alephan himself, I’m rather bad at deciding what to talk about,” he commented before sighing again. His journal and pen were still in hand, but at this point he had given up in writing anything. Dropping his pen, he went and touched the mark on his forehead. “Am I really the person you want to have break my family’s curse?”

There was silence, but it was to be expected. He was not Aelfric’s voice, who heard her Goddess speak to her, or Draefendi’s Companion, who was supposed to one day hunt side by side with the Mother of Nature herself. He was Alephan’s Scholar, and his god had nothing to say to him.

Sitting back up, Cyrus thought about the Divine Chosen he traveled with. Based on what he had learned of her so far, he knew Primrose had come to accept and take pride in her role as Sealticge’s Dancer. Then again, the connections to their gods were vastly different. While Cyrus had been cursed by his, she was a descendant of hers. This resulted in Primrose caring and having a great respect in Sealticge, while Cyrus held a sense of fear towards Alephan that he could never shake.

Cyrus groaned. He really was the worst person to be a Divine Chosen, wasn’t he? It had been four years since he had been marked, and he had yet to make any progress on breaking the Albright family curse. Primrose, meanwhile, had already succeeded in spreading Sealticge’s stories through the festival, just as the Goddess had wanted. He didn’t think there was any way that he could relate to her.

...though he could still try, couldn’t he? Even with their differences, he and the young woman were still both Divine Chosen. Perhaps if they talked with each other, he’d start to feel better about the position he was in, and maybe even have a better understanding of himself. It would give him the perfect opportunity to take more notes too! He was never one to pass up on a chance to do research!

Opening his journal back up, Cyrus once again began to write. He wrote down everything he wanted to talk to Primrose about, and each question he wanted to ask her. Though there was a lot he had to say, there would be plenty of time for them to discuss things. With him spending the next six months with her, he wouldn’t have to worry about any restraints! Well, he would have to at least be careful not to overstep his boundaries.

Finishing up, Cyrus looked over the notes he wrote. He had filled up quite a few pages, and felt somewhat better knowing he had somebody to talk to. Though he  _had_ spoken with Aelfric’s Voice and Bifelgan’s Idol before, this would be far different. This wasn’t for research- okay, it partially was- but it would help him to better himself. Taking his pen one last time, he wrote down one final note before calling it a night.

_“Today, I decided to help re-evaluate what it means to be a Divine Chosen.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Info drop? Check  
> Lore drop? Check  
> Embarrassing Cyrus? Check  
> Keeping the chapter length reasonable?
> 
> ...yeah, this chapter is a long one. There were so many things I wanted to mention here, and it felt wrong cutting out specific parts in order to shorten it. Though I did consider splitting the chapter up into two, I didn't think I'd have enough information to add to actually make a second chapter with what remained after I split it. I normally like cutting my chapters at around 8500 words at the most, but this one pushed an extra 700 words beyond that.
> 
> So enjoy the long chapter I guess?
> 
> There's a lot that happened world building wise, and honestly, there's so many teases and references that I'm not even sure where to begin. I think at this point it's probably my best bet to keep them a secret and let you all try to figure things out on your own, since some things won't be relevant until much, much later. I will say, however, that there's quite a few things hidden within plain sight.
> 
> Okay, I'm gonna go take a nap now.


	3. Lesson Three: The Guards of Cobbleston

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Cyrus and the dancers arrive at the second stop of their journey, they expect to pick the next dancer up without any problems. Unfortunately when they go to meet with her in the local tavern, things take a troublesome turn and Cyrus and Primrose find themselves having to help a father save his daughter.

The town of Cobbleston. **  
**

Nestled deep within the Highlands, it was a small town, with beautiful landscape all around. The townsfolk formed a tight knit community, and they worked together to make the town prosper. Due to its placement along the trails, it was common for travelers to stop in the area, and the inn, shops, and tavern were always full of life. Plenty of new faces always passed through, along with the handful of regular travelers who the people knew well. Occasionally, one of those well-known travelers would make their stay permanent, and the community would grow just a bit larger.

This small town was to be the second stop on Cyrus and the dancers’ trip to Sunshade. It would be a fairly easy trip from the town of Rippletide, and there were no delays in their travels. The group woke early, ate and prepared to depart in a timely manner, and were on the road no later than mid-morning. Cyrus found himself sharing a carriage with Elena, Selena, and Celica this time around, and the three women chose to gossip amongst themselves about romance while Cyrus focused on his notes. The dancers at one point offered to let him join their conversation, but he politely declined, saying he had nothing of interest to add. That didn’t stop him, however, from noticing a few things that stuck out to him.

Based on what had been discussed the previous night and what the dancers spoke of now, Cyrus learned quite a few interesting details about their lives. Elena was arranged to be married to a young man from Riverford, and Celica was being courted by quite a few suitors back home in Victor’s Hollow. Selena also had some sort of romantic interest in someone, but it was too complicated to explain in proper words. Apparently she had held feelings for the same person for over a year at that point, but something was preventing her from saying anything to them. Of course, this only led the other two dancers to pry more.

“You have to tell us who you’re in love with, Selena! We just have to know!” Elena loudly declared as she draped herself over Celica’s shoulders. The other dancer nodded in agreement before clasping her hands together and smiling.

“We promise not to tell anybody, no matter how complicated it is!” Celica added on. Selena, who was sitting next to Cyrus, put her face in her hands and turned away from the two other women. She was embarrassed.

“Oh, please stop!” Selena squeaked out. “I already said I don’t want to talk about it!” She was shaking her torso from side to side as she held her arms close, and at one point, she accidentally hit Cyrus, causing him to drop his pen onto the floor.

“Ah, perhaps this means it’s time to change the subject,” Cyrus said to the girls as he reached down to pick his pen back up. “Wouldn’t you agree this has gone on long enough, Selena?”

The embarrassed dancer looked towards the professor and nodded. “Yes, it most definitely has,” she said with a quiet tone. It was obvious to him that if the conversation had gone on any longer, she would have started to cry. It seemed Elena and Celica had noticed as well.

“We’re sorry, Selena…” the two dancers apologized in unison. Cyrus knew that Celica and Elena were amongst the younger of the dancers and thus could be a little harder to deal with, but he hadn’t been prepared for their gossiping nature. He  _had_ been warned another dancer was far worse than they were, but the two of them were still on a level of their own.

“Ah, and I’m really sorry for hitting you, Professor!” Selena apologized in slight distress. “It was an accident, I promise!”

Cyrus gave the dancer a gentle smile. “It’s no problem, Ms. Selena. I would never be angry at you for something so small,” he said. The dancer smiled in return, and she had began to blush again.

“Well, what are we going to talk about now?” Elena asked the group. “We’re still a few hours away from Cobbleston, and there’s not really much to look at outside other than a bunch of sea and rocks.”

The dancer next to her nodded in agreement. “The scenery will be a lot more interesting when we’re actually in the Highlands. Both Elena and I are from towns by the sea, so the Coastlands aren’t really all that exciting.”

Twirling his pen in one hand, Cyrus flipped to a blank page in his notes with the other. “Well, why don’t you three tell me more about the dancer that I’ll be meeting next? I’d like to be able to make a good impression on her when we meet!”

Still draped over Celica, Elena began to beam. “We can do that! There’s a lot of interesting things we can say about Ishtar!” she mentioned cheerfully. The other two dancers spoke of their agreement, and the three immediately began telling Cyrus of the woman he was soon to meet.

Her name was Ishtar, a 30-year-old woman who Cyrus had previously been told worked as a guard in the off season. She danced for the God Brand, and she often performed her dances with a variety of weapons in hand. She was a single mother, with a 7-year-old daughter who stayed with her late-husband’s parents while she was away for the festival. The girl often came to visit with her uncle, Ishtar’s older brother, while the dancers were in Sunshade, and the other women in the group had come to adore the young girl. It was also common for the young girl to stay with her mother the week the festivities took place.

Ishtar was also said to be close to Winnehild’s dancer due to them depicting the twin gods, and they would often write letters back and forth. Ishtar’s daughter also considered Lucrezia to be an aunt of sorts, and the dancer was always spoiling the young girl whenever she was around. As for Ishtar herself, the three dancers described her as being rather stoic and quiet. They said she had originally been much more talkative, but she had become more reserved when her husband passed four years prior. His death had happened during the same time as the festival, and the dancer sat out the last few days in order to grieve.

The three women talked for hours about the dancer, and there were plenty of stories to tell. Cyrus took notes of everything he deemed important, though a few things of less importance that he had found amusing managed to slip in. One story that truly stuck out, however, was a particular one where Ishtar was said to have taken out an entire group of bandits who had threatened the dancers the year prior. The fearsome dancer always carried her blade on her, and the bandits had not been expecting any of the women to be trained to fight. Apparently, a few of the ruffians even ran as soon as Ishtar produced her blade.

By the late afternoon, the group had finally arrived in Cobbleston. The three dancers Cyrus had sat with were in high spirits, and their conversation had passed the remaining time quickly. Cyrus also had a chance to sketch the scenery as the girls spoke, and a few of his pages were now filled with sights they had seen on the road. In truth, it was his first time being this far down south, and the two dancers from the coastal regions had been right: the Highlands were absolutely breathtaking. He was excited to tell his students about them when he returned home.

“Ah, finally! Thou doest not knowen how long I have been waiting to stretch thine legs!” Ami said as the dancers stepped out of their carriages. Arianna and Primrose stepped out behind her, while Eve, Wilhelmina, and Yusufa stepped out of their own. They all looked to be varying degrees of tired or restless.

“The breeze is so nice…” Yusufa said as she held out her arms and closed her eyes. “It was so hot in there, I thought I was going to melt!”

“I mean, I thought it was a rather fun trip!” Elena expressed as she bounced over to the other dancers. “As much as I hate being in carriages, this time wasn’t so bad!”

“That’s because you got to ride with the Professor,” Eve pointed out with a grumble. “Everything has to be far more interesting when he’s around!”

Amused, Cyrus laughed lightly at the assumption. “I’m not quite sure how interesting I am in all honesty,” he admitted. “It was not myself we spoke of, but Ishtar. She sounds like quite the amazing woman, and I look forward to meeting her!”

Primrose stepped towards Cyrus and smiled. “Ishtar normally waits for us to arrive at the tavern, but we don’t leave for Sunshade until she has a chance to say goodbye to her daughter,” the dancer explained. “The rest of the guard likes to send her off on a good note, but it’s not until she sees her daughter one last time that she’s truly ready to depart.”

Nodding in understanding, Cyrus gestured to the dancers he had ridden with. “Elena, Celica, and Selena told me about her situation. She must be a very strong individual to be able to leave her daughter for six months at a time,” he said. While he knew all of the dancers had to be apart from family for the festival, he had an admiration for mothers who were raising children on their own. It was something he related to on a personal level.

From behind Primrose, Wilhelmina spoke up. “When she lost her husband, we weren’t quite sure what she was going to do. We had to cut all the remaining stories involving Brand that year so she could return home, and we all thought that she was going to retire in order to take care of her little girl. We were all shocked the following year when we learned she would be continuing to dance.”

“Yet it was her daughter who made the decision for her,” Primrose added on. “She told us that if it wasn’t for Ethnia loving to see her dance, she would have asked to be replaced.”

“And it’s a good thing she didn’t, because we owe a lot to her! We may have already told you how she protected us from bandits, but she’s done more than just that,” Celica mentioned. Around her, the other dancers nodded in agreement.

“Well, what are we doing just standing here?” Elena interrupted. “Are we going to go meet up with her or not?”

Continuing to smile, Primrose nodded again. “Yes, you’re right, Elena. It is about time we go see her. Shall we go?”

As the carriages were taken to a nearby stable so the horses could be cared for, the group headed westward towards the tavern. All around them travelers stopped to stare, and the occasional one would say something. They were all positive comments, and those traveling through the area were enthralled by the dancers’ presence. A few of the townsfolk also stopped to wave to the women, and those who noticed would wave back. It was far more laid-back than it had been in Rippletide.

Reaching the tavern, Cyrus held the door open for the eight dancers as they made their way inside. They all thanked him as they passed, and once they were in, he followed suit. He was immediately greeted with a lively scene, and the entire room seemed to be filled with cheer.

All around the tavern sat men and women with drinks in their hands. Most of them had weapons strapped to their waists or sitting nearby, and many of them wore some sort of armor to protect themselves. In the middle of the tavern, a rather tall and strong looking gentleman sat with a well-built woman. They both had glasses next to them, but their focus was on each other. They were arm wrestling, and they seemed to be equally matched.

“You can do it, Ishtar!”

“Take her down, Captain Olberic!”

“Don’t give up!”

The guards in the tavern were cheering and hadn’t seemed to notice the dancers enter. They were too focused on the sport at hand, and perhaps a little drunk as well. Even the dancers seemed to be enjoying the competition, as a few of them joined in on the cheering.

“Come on! Show him who’s boss!”

“Show him what the Dancer of Brand is made of!”

Eventually, the competition came to an end. The woman’s hand hit the table, and one of the nearby men rose her competitors hand in victory. The woman, however, was none too bothered, and laughed before downing her drink. She was smiling, and the tall man smiled in return.

“An excellent fight as always, Ishtar,” he said. “But that’s to be expected of one of the finest members of this guard.”

The woman put her glass down. “It’s always my pleasure, Captain Olberic,” she responded. For as lively as the event was and despite her smile, she sounded rather stoic.

“You continue to improve each year, and we’ll miss you as always while you’re away,” the gentleman continued. “Of course, we’re all proud of the work you do outside of this town.”

“Thank you, Captain Olberic. I look forward to my return,” the woman thanked with the same stoic tone. Cyrus found it a bit odd, but knowing what he had been told about the woman, it didn’t come as too much of a surprise.

“With that finished though, I think it’s time we acknowledge our guests,” the captain said as he gestured towards the group of dancers. Ishtar shifted her gaze towards them, and she quickly got up and approached the group. Her smile became one that was far more gentle.

“You’re here!” she said as she began to hug each of the younger women. “I wasn’t expecting you until a bit later!”

“Our travels went rather smoothly this year, and we left on time for once,” Primrose said as she returned Ishtar’s hug. Down the line, one of the other dancers laughed.

“Tis’ because Sir Albright refusen to let us sleepeth in!” Ami said with a bright smile. The other girls nodded in response, and Cyrus felt his face heat up.

“Ah, well you see, I just didn’t want to lose any time traveling today. I’ve heard stories about traveling the area after dark, and I assumed it would be safer to leave earlier,” Cyrus explained. It was common knowledge that the paths in the Highlands were rather elevated, and a few travelers lost their lives each year trying to navigate in the dark. He didn’t want to think what it would be like if that had happened to their group.

“That’s a rather smart assumption to make,” Ishtar agreed. “Though... May I ask who you are? I wasn’t informed that we were getting a new dancer this year, and a man no less.” Her comment caused the women around Cyrus to giggle.

“Oh, I’m no dancer, I’m a professor!” Cyrus expressed in mild embarrassment. “My name is Cyrus Albright, and I’ve been given permission to research the group for my studies this year.”

“He’s also a Divine Chosen, just like Primrose!,” Elena added on with a rather happy tone. “Alephan’s Scholar to be exact! He’s covering it now, but he has his mark right on his forehead!”

There were gasps and murmurs from around the room. A number of patrons stared at Cyrus, and he began to grow uncomfortable. The Captain was giving him an especially odd look.

“Ah yes, that’s true,” Cyrus admitted to the group. “Though I hadn’t planned to mention that until a bit later. It’s not something I generally bring up in public.”

“Understandably so,” the captain agreed from across the room. “Such knowledge probably brings danger to you when you’re out on the road.”

One of the other guards raised their glass. “They say Brand’s Warrior is similar in that retrospect. They live somewhere in the Highlands, but nobody knows who they be,” they mentioned. Another guard next to them nodded fervently in agreement.

“It’s a damn shame too, since I’d love to see them go at it with Captain Olberic! We could also always use an extra chunk of muscle around here!” they added. The captain turned to the two and began to frown.

“That’s enough talk of Brand’s Warrior from you two. It’s about time we all get ready to say goodbye to Ishtar,” he stated. “We won’t see her again until after the fall comes, so if you’d have anything you’d like to say, you better say it now.”

“It’s okay, Captain. We’re not in any rush. I still need to say goodbye to Ethnia after all, and I believe she’s still out playing with Philip,” Ishtar mentioned. The dancer was still smiling, but it came off as being sad. She was probably not looking forward to having to part with her daughter.

“And if it’s alright…” Cyrus began. “I wouldn’t mind getting to ask you and your guard a few questions about your work. I do all kinds of research you see, and there’s always something to be learned!”

To Cyrus surprise, the captain began to laugh. “What kind of man would I be to say no to a Divine Chosen? Ask all you’d like boy; I’m sure we’ll have your answers.”

The group of dancers and guards spent the next half an hour chatting as Cyrus asked questions. The guards were all nice people, and the men and women all had rather interesting things to say. Cyrus learned of their routines, their preferred weapons, and what being part of the Cobbleston guard entailed. The dancers seemed to enjoy the questions too, as they would cheekily give their answers or opinions on a variety of them. Even Ishtar was starting to answer for both sides.

When Cyrus felt he had collected enough info, he closed his journal and put away his pen. He had used the one marked with Brand’s symbol this time, as he found it most appropriate with the dancer, and the color it produced was a rather nice shade of blue. He placed both the pen and journal in his coat pockets, and settled in his chair as one of the guards offered to get him a drink. He was too polite to decline, and though he had no plans to drink all of it, a few sips of ale wouldn’t hurt. The atmosphere was too cheerful not to enjoy himself anyway.

“Mommy, mommy! Come quick!”

“Sir Olberic, Cecily is in danger!”

The captain shot out of his chair and looked out the open tavern window. Ishtar bolted up next to him, and ran to open the front door. Two children, a boy and a girl no older than ten, made their way in and were trying their best to catch their breath.

“Philip, tell me what happened!” the captain demanded as he approached the young boy. The boy looked up, and it was obvious he had been crying. His shirt was covered in dirt as well.

“Ethnia and I were playing just outside of town, when we heard a noise! We followed it and found a strange group of men heading towards the nearby path!” the young boy explained.

“We tried to find somebody and tell them, but they came after us! Before they could hurt us though, Miss Cecily showed up and drove them away! She said she wasn’t done with them when we tried to go back to town, so she chased after them!” the young girl continued. Cyrus could see the captain tense up, and he had an expression that was a mix of both fear and anger.

“Ah, may I ask who Cecily is?” Cyrus tried to inquire. Ishtar looked at him with a frown on her face before turning back to the captain.

“Cecily is the youngest member of the guard, along with being Captain Olberic’s daughter. She’s only 21 and still inexperienced, and she’s never fought a group of bandits on her own before,” the dancer explained. She sounded distressed.

“Cecily, what were you thinking?” the captain asked himself before turning to the group of guards. “I need to go after her and make sure she’s safe. I’ll need to go alone as to not alert the bandits, but if I don’t return, don’t come after me.”

“Captain, let me go with you! They tried to hurt Ethnia, so this makes this my battle too!” Ishtar insisted. Despite her stoic nature, there was a fire in her eyes. She was going to go whether the captain wanted her to or not.

“Okay, but stay behind me,” the Captain ordered. “We need to be careful, or else they might try to hurt Cecily if they’ve captured her.”

“...perhaps I might be of use as well?” Cyrus suggested while standing up. Though he wasn’t one to normally fight, he felt his assistance here would be vital. Of course, being a Divine Chosen, he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. The dancers began whispering to each other around him.

“You volunteer, yet you don’t have a weapon,” the captain pointed out. “I can’t let an unarmed man join us in this fight.”

“Ah, I may be unarmed, but I promise you I can easily proccur a weapon. Once I have it in my hands, you won’t have to worry,” Cyrus insisted. While it was indeed true he didn’t have a weapon on hand as of current, it would not take him much effort to obtain one. In fact, he already knew how to get one.

The captain hesitated. “...if you are certain, then I will not deny the help of a Divine Chosen,” he stated. Nearby, Primrose stepped forward, and pulled out a golden fan she had kept hidden.

“I believe I can be of use rescuing the young woman as well,” she mentioned. “If it’s a Divine Chosen you’re looking for, then you have two at your disposal.”

Sighing, the captain looked at the two. “As long as you two don’t get in the way, I will not deny allowing you to tag along. This is my daughter, however, and I do not want to drag innocents into this mess,” he told the two. “As soon as there’s any signs of real danger, I need you to fall back.”

“Of course, good sir!” Cyrus agreed. He was glad to be of some use to the captain, as he would have felt terrible just sitting by, especially with the abilities at his disposal.

“You have our word,” Primrose promised as she fanned herself. “I’ll make sure that this fine gentleman doesn’t get in your way, nor does he get himself into trouble.”

The captain nodded. “I appreciate it, both of you,” he said before focussing on Cyrus. “Now where is that weapon of yours that you’re going to use?”

Beaming, Cyrus gestured towards the tavern door. “Ah, for that, we need to step outside!” he explained. Those in the room gave him an odd look, but he stepped towards the door anyway. He signalled for the captain and the two dancers to follow.

Once outside, Cyrus looked towards the sky. It wasn’t too cloudy, and the breeze was rather refreshing. Birds chirped and trees rustled softly, and it was overall a nice day.

He felt bad he was about to ruin it.

Raising his hand high to the sky, Cyrus watched as the clouds began to swirl together. The wind picked up, and thunder began to rumble in the distance. His scholar robes began to move as a harsh wind blew, and he could see sparks of electricity in the air. A thunderstorm had formed, and with it, people began running to shelter. He reminded himself to fix that later.

“Alephan, the Scholarking! I call upon you!” Cyrus began. His fingers twitched as his hand stayed in the air, and he could feel bits of electricity on his fingertips. “Cast down the weapon that is my divine right, given to me by the mark I bear!”

Lightning struck right into Cyrus’ hand. Though the heat from the strike was intense, it did not bring harm to the scholar. In fact, it faded fast, and Cyrus was left with something entirely different.

An ornate staff carved from wood that was black as the night sky was now in Cyrus’ possession. A symbol depicting the sun was carved into it, along with a series of notches filled with colored stones. It was well polished, and were it not for the visible grain, one would think it were made of metal. At the top, a gemstone with a strange swirling design rested in place. It gave off an aura that was not of the human world.

“Alephan’s Enlightenment,” Cyrus said as he brought the staff down. “The Divine Weapon of the God Alephan himself.”

Those around Cyrus stared in awe. The scholar waved the weapon towards the sky, and with it, the storm disappeared. It was as if it had never been there in the first place.

“Rather flashy for the summoning of a weapon,” Primrose stated before chuckling lightly. In her hands she still held her fan, but something about it seemed different

“What of your Divine Weapon?” Cyrus asked the chosen dancer. “I assume you’ll be using it on our little escapade?”

In an instant, Primrose closed the fan and threw it up into the air. Dark, shadowy magic moved around her, creeping up her legs and up to her fingertips. She had placed her hand up in a similar manner as Cyrus had, and she balanced herself on one leg. The silk of her dress moved as she did, and it was mesmerizing to watch. It was truly a showcase of the divine.

“Sealticge, the Lady of Grace, and beloved Mother of Passion! I summon the weapon that is mine by the right of my divine blood!” she shouted to the heavens. A moment later, the fan landed back in her hands, and she took a sweeping bow. From the fan she unsheathed a dagger, as gold as the item it came from. She looked up at the group. “Sealticge’s Seduction; the dagger which is said to have stabbed a treacherous man in the heart.”

From nearby, there was clapping.

“That was so amazing! Do it again!” the young boy cheered from next to the captain. The captain was looking at the two chosen, and it seemed their summoning had caught his interest.

Primrose began to laugh. “I’m sorry sweet child, but I won’t be able to show you again at this time,” she informed him before winking. “Perhaps next time I’ll be summoning it from somewhere out of reach, and the sight will be even flashier than this one.”

“While I appreciate you trying to help, we need to get going,” the captain interrupted. “My daughter is in danger, and I need to find her before it’s too late.”

Next to him, Ishtar leaned down and hugged her daughter. “Be a good girl and go back to grandma and grandpa, okay? Mommy will be back to say goodbye soon,” she told the young girl before looking at the boy. “And you go to your mother, Philip. We don’t need either of you getting hurt.”

Nodding, the two children ran off in opposite directions. Ishtar stood back up, and both Cyrus and Primrose stepped towards her and the captain. It was time for them to go.

“Based on what the children said, Cecily is probably in Edgegard cave,” the captain began before looking at the two chosen. “The townsfolk just refer to it as the Brigands’ Den due to bandits and thieves commonly using it as home base, and the guard is constantly having to clear it out.”

“Edgegard Cave is only a short walk up the mountain from here,” Ishtar added on. “Be careful as you walk though, since it’s easy enough to slip and fall if you’re not paying attention.”

“Duly noted!” Cyrus remarked. Since he wasn’t familiar with the area, he was grateful for the tip. If it weren’t for the direness of the situation, he would have made note of it in his journal.

“Then we best be off,” the captain said as he began walking towards the northern side of town. The two dancers and the scholar followed with weapons in hand, heading towards the path they needed to take.

The path to Edgegard Cave was indeed a short walk, but dangers seemed to lurk around every corner. Between high winds and shoddy bridges that hung over large chasms, Cyrus couldn’t help but worry about what laid ahead. Monsters would charge at them at the worst times, and the group was often scattered around. Cyrus found himself by the Captain’s side often, and the two of them worked well together. While Cyrus would cast magic to weaken the enemy, the captain would push forward and deliver the finishing blow.

Their troubles, however, did not end once they reached the end of the trail. The cave itself was dark and wet, with only flames cast by Cyrus and Ishtar lighting the way. Small, strange creatures roamed the cave, and they would often scurry pass and cause somebody to stumble. Though the Captain and Ishtar held their ground well enough, Cyrus was always falling forward and grabbing somebody for assistance. Primrose was starting to get annoyed with him for how many times he had grabbed onto her dress to avoid falling into the chasms below.

Soon, the group came to a stop and extinguished the flames they had created. There were lights up ahead, along with shouts and the sound of clashing metal. It seemed they had reached the bandits, and Cecily as well.

“We need to catch them off guard, but we have to make it quick,” Olberic said as he drew his weapon. “If we just charge in, we may throw off Cecily as well and she’ll get hurt.”

“Allow me to make a distraction then,” Primrose said as she stepped forward. She still held the Divine Dagger in hand, and despite the countless monsters slain, it showed no sign of being covered in blood.

“Primrose, what do you plan on doing?” Cyrus asked the dancer. Though he had complete faith in her to hold her own, he wasn’t sure if her trying to catch an entire group of bandits off guard was a good idea.

“Just watch and learn,” the dancer said before chuckling. She placed the dagger in her belt, then walked forward towards the group. Cyrus and the two guards tensed up as they watched her.

“Ey, what’s a pretty lady doin’ here?” one of the bandits asked as the rest of the group continued to go after Cecily. Primrose fanned herself gently with her golden fan and looked around the area as she did so.

“Ah, it appears I’ve gotten a bit lost. I came to the area to pick up a dear friend of mine, but it seems I’ve found myself here instead,” the dancer said as she acted ever so innocent. A few of the other bandits stopped to get a look at her, and Cyrus watched as they began to gawk.

“Whoever you are, stay back! These bandits aren’t pushovers!” Cecily shouted as she blocked a blow from one of the bandits still fighting. She appeared to be unharmed and was carrying herself well enough, but Cyrus doubted she could take the rest of the bandits out on her own.

“Oi, don’t listen to her lass! Come ‘ere and will help ya find yer way back” another bandit stated. Primrose stepped forward, and a third bandit reached for her hand.

“Lemme take you back to the entrance, miss,” they said rather politely. Primrose took their hand, smiling as she did so, and allowed the bandit to start leading her the other way.

And then it happened.

Taking the dagger from her belt, Primrose plunged it deep into the bandit’s side. The bandit screamed in pain as she did so, and the other bandits immediately charged at her as she pulled the dagger back out. Cyrus, Olberic, and Ishtar immediately ran to join her, and the two guards bodied the bandits going after Primrose before they had a chance to strike.

“Oh, look who came to the party!” Cecily jested as she fended off a bandit with her blade. “I thought you’d both be drunker than a traveler from the Riverlands by now!”

“Cecily, this is not the time to make jokes!” Olberic barked at his daughter. “You are in serious trouble young lady, and we’ll be having a discussion about what you’ve done once we’re done here!”

As the Captain went to help Cecily, Cyrus found himself fending off a pair of bandits on his own. One held an axe and the other a lance, and their swings were powerful and fast. Cyrus did his best to dodge them, but soon found himself backed into a corner. It was no problem, however, as he had confidence in his ability to get out of spots of trouble. Raising his staff, the chosen scholar pointed at to the two bandits.

“Freeze where you stand!” Cyrus shouted as ice began to form at the pair’s feet. A large shard of ice quickly rose from it, pushing the two back and away from Cyrus. The scholar was not finished, however, and waved his staff in a circular motion. “And may hail strike you down!”

The frozen shard shattered into pieces, and bits of ice were suspended in mid-air. They began to fall slowly, as if it were snowing, mesmerizing the two bandits in front of Cyrus. Then, in an instance, the smaller shards shot towards the pair, and yelps escaped as hailstones began to hit and cut their skin. Using his staff to control the direction the hail went, Cyrus continued to batter them until they were far enough away for him to escape. At that point, they had fallen to their knees.

The fight continued to be rough, with Cyrus having to conjure powerful spells and a variety of different weather effects. He summoned fog to blind enemies, winds to blow them off their feet, and thunder to strike them down where they stood. Primrose and Ishtar, meanwhile, continued to work as a pair in order to drive off half a dozen bandits on their own. The two women battled as if they were dancing, which in itself, was distracting enough to their targets, and they were able to take them down with ease. It gave the group the upper hand.

Finally, they came to a point where all of the bandits had ran away. Cyrus was exhausted from all of the spells he had needed to cast, and he was covered in cuts and bruises. He was not used to fighting at such a level, but he had managed to make it through without being majorly harmed.

“What do you think you were you doing going after these bandits on your own!?” the captain suddenly began to shout. Cyrus looked and saw that it was Cecily that he was starting to lecture, and the young woman had looked away in shame.

“I thought… I thought maybe if I proved I could take care of things on my own, you would finally let me travel outside of Cobbleston,” she told her father. Cyrus noticed she had tears in her eyes, and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

“You thought recklessly running off and getting yourself into a dangerous fight would make me trust you enough to let you travel!?” the captain continued to yell. “Cecily, you could’ve gotten yourself killed!”

“Captain…” Ishtar said as she placed a hand on Olberic’s shoulder. “Captain, why don’t you take a moment to listen to what she has to say?”

The captain looked at Ishtar and then back at Cecily. He was frowning and had his brow furrowed, and he looked like he could go off again at any moment. Instead, he let out a deep sigh and crossed his arms.

“...what do you have to say for yourself, Cecily?” the captain asked. His tone sounded both harsh and worried, and Cyrus could tell he truly did care for his daughter. The entire situation was just tough on him.

Cecily looked towards her father. “Ever since you took me in, you’ve never let me step foot out of town. Before… Before my birth parents died, I saw all sorts of places when we traveled Hornburg. In all the time I’ve lived with you in Orsterra, I’ve wanted to do the same! I just wanted to prove I could take care of myself for once, and look, father! I was able to fend off so many of the bandits on my own before you showed up! I know how to take care of myself!” she told him. She was starting to cry, and Cyrus started to frown.

“...maybe we should go,” Primrose whispered from nearby. “I think this is an affair meant to just be between the two of them.”

“Just give it a minute, and everything will sort itself out,” Ishtar said from next to her. Cyrus watched as the captain just looked at his daughter, who looked back while still crying. Eventually, the captain placed a hand on his daughter’s shoulder.

“...we’ll talk more about this when we get home, okay?” Olberic told the young woman. “I’m proud of you for all that you’ve accomplished, but there’s still a lot we need to discuss before I let you out on your own.”

“O-okay…” Cecily responded between sniffles. With her sleeves she wiped her tears, and then proceeded to sheath her blade. She looked towards the others in the group. “It’s nice to see you again, Primrose. I hope the festival goes well this year.”

Smiling, Primrose went over and hugged the girl. “Likewise, Cecily. Now let’s get you back home and get those wounds of yours healed.”

The return trip back from Edgegard Cave was much quieter than the trip to it. Cyrus did not speak much due to his exhaustion, but he did manage to formally introduce himself to Cecily and learn a bit about her as they walked. She was adopted, being only 14 years younger than her father, and had originally come from Hornburg with him after the end of a terrible war. He had found her after her birth parents had been killed in battle, and they had been a family ever since. She had even taken on his last name to prove it.

The rest of the way, Cyrus remained quiet as the others in the group talked amongst each other. He learned that Primrose was acquainted with Captain Olberic and his daughter through Ishtar, and Cecily often remarked that if she had been allowed to travel, she would have auditioned to be Brand’s dancer. Instead, she now dreamed of taking over the mantle of Priestess of Brand, replacing the current Priest, the Elder of Cobbleston. She figured her father would at least let her travel from the shrine and back if he wouldn’t let her travel elsewhere.

As they walked, Cyrus began to grow tired. He had overexerted himself when using magic, and he felt as if all the energy he had had been sapped out of him. He walked slowly, and he was starting to sway back and forth. His eyes were starting to close, and his body was growing heavy. And then…

...when Cyrus opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar place. He sat up quickly, looking around to get an idea of where he was. The room was small, with a desk, nightstand, and a few other necessities, and he appeared to be on some sort of bed. By that logic, he must have been in the inn back in Cobbleston. Of course, he had no idea how he had gotten there.

“Ah, you’re awake!”

Cyrus looked towards the door. Peering in from the hall was Primrose, who had a sad smile on her face. Ishtar was standing right behind her.

“What… Happened?” Cyrus asked the two dancers. The last he remembered was that they were walking back from Edgegard cave, and the next thing he knew, he was at the inn.

“You collapsed on the way back to town,” Primrose explained. “Sir Olberic had to carry you all the way back here. You gave us all a real scare.”

“Ah…” Cyrus began to mumble. “I must have overdone it during our battle with the bandits.”

“Should I tell the others he’s okay, Primrose?” Ishtar asked the other dancer. Primrose looked towards her and nodded her head.

“Yes, that way they stop trying to come in here to get a look at him,” she said. Cyrus had no idea what would compel the girls to come see him while he was trying to sleep, but he decided not to question it further.

“Please tell the captain I said thank you,” the scholar added on. He felt bad the captain had needed to carry him, but he was unsure if the others could have managed. Well, Ishtar may have, but Cecily was far too short and he doubted Primrose had the same amount of muscle as they did.

“Will do.”

With Ishtar gone, it was just he and Primrose. The dancer made her way in and took a seat at the desk, and Cyrus’ gaze moved to somewhere nearby. His divine weapon was leaning against the wall.

“Hey, Cyrus,” Primrose said as moved her gaze to the black, wooden staff. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Primrose. What is it you’d like to know?” he asked in response. Looking at her, he could see her dagger had been placed back within the fan. It glistened in the light.

“...do you not have access to all of your divine power?”

Cyrus inhaled sharply.  _Ah…. So that’s what she wanted to know._  Though Cyrus was indeed a divine chosen, there were still many things he couldn’t do. Using his divine weapon for too long was one of them, and what other abilities he had seemed to be limited as well.

“I honestly don’t know,” he answered. Though he considered it to be something that were possible, he wouldn’t really have a way to test it without another chosen to compare himself to. Perhaps with Primrose in his company, he could give it a shot.

“Well, either way, you need to be more careful,” she said as she stood back up. “We don’t need you passing out and almost falling off a cliff again.”

Cyrus began to chuckle. “Do not worry, dear Primrose. I have no plans to do that again,” he assured her. Though he had probably worried the group he had been with, the image of them scrambling to catch him as he fell was one he found quite amusing.

“Make sure you join us for dinner tonight too, okay? The others are going to have a lot of questions they want to ask, and we’re already having to stay an extra night thanks to what happened,” the dancer requested. “It’ll be ready in about twenty minutes.”

Nodding, Cyrus placed his hand on his chest. “You have my word that I’ll be there, Primrose!” he promised. Though he was still a bit tired, he was sure it was something a little food could fix.

With a soft click of the door, Primrose left the room. Cyrus was alone again, and he reached for his coat in order to grab something from his pockets. From within, he pulled out his personal journal and the pen he had chosen to use that day. Thankfully, neither had been damaged during his collapse.

“Now let’s see…” Cyrus muttered to himself as he opened to the page where he had left off. It was covered with all sorts of things covering the days events, and he smiled slightly as he looked at them. Putting his pen on the nearest blank spot, he began to write…

_“Today, I helped a father and his daughter, and Primrose asked me a question that I’ve always wondered the answer to…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my lord, this chapter....
> 
> Took me almost no time at all to finish??? I was stuck for MONTHS on Aeber and Bifelgan, but I wrote more than half of this chapter in less than a day. The beginning was a bit rough, but once I really sat down and worked on it, it went by pretty easily! ...though that's probably because I had planned almost this entire chapter out while struggling on the other fic.
> 
> I especially loved working on this chapter because of the Olberic and Cecily cameo though. It's a really important bit that needed to be covered for later, and it actually ties in with something mentioned in their small cameo in Aeber and Bifelgan! Actually, a lot of things in this series tie in with each other...
> 
> In other words, everything is connected and I am a madwoman.


	4. Lesson Four: The Priest of Sealticge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fully recovered and finally arriving in Sunshade, Cyrus is prepared to meet the last four dancers of the troupe. Though he doesn't get to spend much time speaking with them, he finds himself being able to speak with a very important figure in their place.

The town of Sunshade.

It was a well-known town, being a popular tourist destination, and located in the northern half of the Sunlands. It was built next to a large cliff face, and much of the town was covered in shadow during the day. Though it wasn’t known for any breathtaking views, it had a rich history that drew people to it. It was the town in which the Festival of the Gods was held each year, and it was said to be blessed by the goddess Sealticge herself. There even existed a stage within a tavern that the Goddess was believed to have danced on many times before.

Cyrus and the ten women he accompanied were to head to the town that day. With it being far from festival season, it would be quiet still, and the dancers wouldn’t have to deal with too many prying eyes. They would be staying in a home that had been built for the use of the troupe generations prior, and access inside of it would be limited. Cyrus was a special case with his research, along with Arianna, who would continue to attend to Primrose as she normally did. The only others who would be allowed inside were members of the dancers’ families who would come visit and the Priest of Sealticge.

It was mid-morning, and Cyrus, Arianna, and the nine dancers had all sat down for breakfast. After the incident with the bandits the day prior, the group had decided to stay the night in order to let Cyrus recover. He was feeling better now that he had gotten a full night’s rest, and was prepared to continue with the journey ahead. Of course, traveling on an empty stomach was less than desirable, and the group wanted to make sure they were well fed. They wouldn’t have another full meal until they reached Sunshade so needed to eat plenty before leaving.

“Would you like some tea, Professor?” Eve asked Cyrus as she held a teapot in her hands. “I hear this specific brew goes well with Kingship muffins and jam when sweetened!”

Cyrus smiled. “Oh, that would be lovely, thank you,” he said as he placed his fork down.  The dancer poured him a cup of tea and stirred in a few cubes of sugar before handing it to him. For some strange reason, a few of the other dancers began to giggle as he drank it.

“Well, do you like it?” Eve continued to ask. She was smiling brightly, but also holding back a laugh of her own. Furrowing his brow, Cyrus took a bite of his muffin, which indeed went well with the tea, and went to speak after swallowing.

“Yes, it is quite delicious-”

Cyrus stopped. When he had spoken, a voice that was not his own had come out. It was higher, and much more feminine, and definitely not what he was expecting to hear. Most of the dancers burst out laughing, and Eve stifled a laugh herself.

“It’s good to know Pitchweed Tea goes so well with muffins and jam! I drink it almost every morning, but I’ve never thought to try the combination myself!” the tall dancer stated before finally letting herself laugh in full. Cyrus couldn’t help but continue to smile, and even began to laugh himself.

“Ah, so you thought that perhaps since I was already eating a Kingship muffin, I might as well test it out for you?” the professor asked. Pitchweed was given its name for its effect on the voice, and a tea made from it was commonly drunk by those who wished to change theirs. Lighter doses shifted the pitch upwards, and heavier doses shifted it downwards. Based on how he sounded, Cyrus assumed Eve drank a lighter dose.

“It was actually my idea!” Elena said from a few seats away. “I thought it would be a fun prank to play, and Eve was happy to assist me!”

Holding up the teapot, Eve winked. “And she was right! The look on your face was priceless when you realized what was going on! Of course, next time I offer you any, I’ll make sure to warn you beforehand!”

“Eve, Elena, try not to scare off Sir Albright before we even have a chance to even reach Sunshade,” Primrose interrupted from her own seat. Arianna was sitting next to her, and she poured the lead dancer her own cup of tea. The servant laughed gently.

“We have a day’s trip ahead of us, so they have plenty of time to do that,” Arianna warned in a teasing manner. “As long as they both don’t ride with him, however, he should be fine.”

“Ah, don’t worry about me! It’ll take a lot more than a small prank to drive me away from my research!” Cyrus said in response. His voice was starting to return to normal, but a little bit of the change in pitch still remained. He could see Primrose cracking the slightest bit of a smile as he spoke.

“Well, let’s just hope nobody tries to escalate things any further,” the chosen dancer stated. Despite her serious tone, Cyrus could tell she was slightly amused by the situation. He drank another sip of the tea.

“Truly, do not worry, Miss Azelhart. I have plenty of patience,” he promised with his voice once again higher pitched. The dancers began to laugh again, and Cyrus laughed along with them. He was glad to see them all in high spirits.

Finishing breakfast, the group prepared to depart from Cobbleston. Ishtar had stayed with her family for one last night, and she met up with the group once the carriages were brought to the front of the inn. She had brought her daughter with her, and the two shared one last heartfelt goodbye before the young girl was taken back home by her grandparents. Cyrus felt his own heart ache a bit as he watched, but he smiled and waved to the girl as she left. Both she and her mother had tears in her eyes.

This time around, Cyrus found himself in the same carriage as Eve, Ishtar, and Ami. They were a much more serious group despite Eve’s help in the earlier antics, and much of what they discussed related to their upcoming practices. According to the three, Ishtar was in charge of weapons practice, while Eve and Ami assisted. All three women were accustomed to using weaponry, as Ishtar was a guard, Ami a huntress, and Eve a mercenary. Their experience helped greatly when teaching the other girls how to properly wield their weapons while they danced.

As they chatted, Cyrus learned what battles they would act out this year would differ from the last. There were plenty of stories about the gods, and despite the festival lasting five days, it was impossible to perform them all in the given timeframe. The legends and battles depicted were changed out each year to compensate, with a select handful of stories never changing, and which ones they’d perform would be the first thing decided after arriving. Cyrus made note of this in his journal, and specifically left a space open so he could write down the schedule at a later time. He wanted to make sure he stayed on top of everything during the next six months.

“I art personally a fan of Dreisang creating his children,” Ami said as she pet the lynx sitting at her feet. “Tis a very heartwarming story, and I enjoyeth watching Alephan, Dohter, and Steorra becomen their own persons over time. The dancers playeth the role very well.”

Next to Cyrus, Eve crossed her arms. “That one is pretty enjoyable to watch, though I prefer the legend of Aeber stealing fire from Balogar and giving it to the people. The lighting is dramatic, and it puts an interesting perspective on things once Aeber falls in love with Bifelgan,” she mentioned. They were both stories Cyrus had heard before and commonly found in the books he read for his research.

“What about you, Sir Albright? Doth thou haveth a favorite legend?” Ami asked the professor. He looked up from his journal and furrowed his brow. That was a question he’d have to think about.

“Let’s see… I’ve come to hear many different stories over my studies. My focus has always been on the gods and the Divine Chosen, and I’ve read about even the most obscure legends. If I have to choose only one as my favorite…” Cyrus began. He placed his chin in his hand and continued to think. It really was a tough question.

“I like when Dohter fought a giant snake and created anti-venom” Ishtar added from her spot in the carriage. “Lucrezia and I control the puppet representing the snake, and watching a more petite girl like Meryl wield an axe is amusing.”

Eve began to laugh. “I’ll have to agree there! It’s the same thing for Elena and Cardia. Those girls are so small that watching them hold a spear and sword respectively is always an amusing sight!” she mentioned. Across from her, Ami began to smile.

“Both girls art talented despite their small stature. We’ll haveth to maken sure Sir Albright sees them during practice,” the huntress stated. “Speaking of which, thou was deciding thy favorite legend?”

Cyrus nodded in response. “Yes, but I do believe I have it now,” he told the group. “I enjoy the legend in which Draefendi hunts a dragon to save Alephan when he was cursed to be stone. It’s one my mother often told me as a child, and to this day I have the entire thing memorized by heart.”

“‘It was not the scale of the dragon that cured Alephan, but the power of Draefendi’s heart’,” Ishtar recounted from the tale. “That’s one I often tell my daughter as well, though her favorite is the one in which Sealticge dances for seven days in order to free a town’s people from its mad king.”

Eve looked at Cyrus and smiled. “Though I’m not surprised Alephan is involved in yours, I am surprised you picked one of the more romantic ones!” she teased. The professor began to frown, and he felt himself becoming a tad uncomfortable. He didn’t want to bring romance into the topic, nor his connection with Alephan.

To Cyrus’ relief, Ami came to his aid. “Leaveth him alone, Eve. You hath bullied him enough for today,” she accused. Ishtar nodded in agreement.

“Primrose already warned you not to scare him off this morning,” the oldest dancer reminded the taller woman. “You should probably listen, or else she might cut out some of your stories this year.”

Eve began to frown. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but no words came out. Raising her hands slightly, she admitted defeat. “Alright, no more pestering,” she promised before crossing her arms again. “Selena and I share a good chunk of our performances, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint her.”

“Let’s talk more about those instead,” Cyrus interrupted as he turned to a new page. “I’m sure there’s plenty more you want to discuss about your performances, especially because we’re getting so close to Sunshade. Are there any other favorites the three of you would like to share?”

Beaming, the three women began to chatter away. With one of his many pens in hand, he wrote down as many notes as he could. The women had much to say on the subject, and his pages began to fill up fast. At some point, the group made a short stop in a small desert town in order to stretch, and Cyrus found himself writing down the favorites of other dancers as well. By the end of it, he felt he had covered a few legends that even he didn’t know very well in great detail.

By the time the group continued on their way, the topic had shifted. The three women spoke of more mundane things, and there was nothing of interest for Cyrus to write down. He instead began to sketch in the journal’s pages, drawing detailed portraits of the dancers he currently sat with. They were delighted when he showed them, and he showed them the drawings he had done the other day as well. He hoped that once they were in Sunshade, he’d be able to sketch the remaining dancers and complete the set.

When the group finally reached their destination, it was late into the evening. The sun had already set, and lanterns lit the dark streets. The town was quiet save for a few guards and those who chose to roam the night, but none paid too much attention to the carriages as they passed. The group was taken to a richer part of the town, where large homes and shops filled the streets, and came to a stop in front of what appeared to be an inn. The only difference was that there was no sign that established it as such.

Stepping out of the carriage, Cyrus looked around. There wasn’t anything exciting to see so late at night, but it was still a much different place than Atlasdam. Despite it being dark, he could clearly see the cliff face the town was built next to as it towered high in the sky. The moon peeked out from behind it, and a soft light spread along the area. It was peaceful.

“Look Primmy, we managed to keep Sir Albright in one piece!” Eve exclaimed as she gestured to the professor. Primrose began to laugh, and placed a hand on her hip.

“And how many times did Ami and Ishtar need to stop you?” the chosen dancer asked with a teasing tone. Eve stepped back and lowered her arms before looking away in embarrassment.

“...only once,” she muttered. There were a few giggles from the younger dancers, and Cyrus began to smile.

“I had a wonderful time talking with Eve and the other two despite it,” he promised Primrose. Even if Eve’s comments had set him off slightly, he knew she hadn’t meant to cause any harm. She, along with the other dancers, were all rather nice people.

“Twas an excellent trip indeed! Thou should let us guard Sir Albright more often!” Ami stated rather proudly. The Lynx next to her let out a noise that sounded like agreement, and the huntress scratched the back of its head. It purred loudly.

Primrose smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time we need to keep him out of trouble,” she said with the same teasing tone. “For now though, we should go inside and see if our friends have made it safely.”

Upon hearing the mention of the others, Cyrus perked up. “Ah, yes! I do hope so since I’ve been looking forward to meeting them!” he said enthusiastically. He surprisingly hadn’t asked the three women he traveled with about the remaining four girls, but he’d have plenty of time to make up for it. They’d be here for the next six months after all!

“I’ll make sure everyone’s belongings get inside. You all go on in and prepare for dinner,” Arianna said as she went to open the front door. The dancers gave a cheerful response, and all made their way into the large home. Cyrus followed behind.

The home was… Extravagant.

With decorated walls and a large front room, Cyrus assumed it was a manor of some sorts. There were two halls that extended from the front room, but where exactly they went he could only guess. In the front room itself, there was plenty of seating, and vases of flowers decorated a multitude of tables. There were a few bookshelves filled with plenty of things to read, and cabinets that had expensive glassware on display. Even the curtains appeared to be made of the finest silks.

Sitting in one of the many seating areas was a group of four women. They sat chatting amongst each other, and a pot of tea was placed in front of them. Two men in what appeared to be servant garbs stood next to them, and quietly waited for orders on what to do next. The women were laughing about something, but one of them stopped when she noticed the group that had just come in. She smiled.

“Oh, you all made it!” she said as she quickly got to her feet. She wore a shawl to cover her hair, and her dress was similar to that of a commoner of Sunshade. Cyrus wondered if she was a local.

“RIA! YOU MADE IT!” Elena suddenly shouted as she ran over to the group. She threw herself at the woman with the shawl, who hugged her in return while laughing. One of the other women stood up and laughed as well.

“You’re just as energetic as ever, Elena!” the second woman stated before joining in on the hug. She wore somewhat heavier clothing and a hat, and her brown hair was tied back to keep it out of her face.

“Cardia! I missed you and Ria so much!” Elena said with what sounded like a sob. She didn’t appear to be crying, however, and she was most likely just doing it to be dramatic. Based on what he had been told, Cyrus assumed the two women hugging her were the dancers of Balogar and Aeber respectively,

The other two women stood up and stepped towards the rest of the group. The taller of the two was dressed rather fashionably, and her jewelry looked to have cost a fortune. Cyrus could tell she had expensive tastes. The other woman, meanwhile, was dressed rather simply in comparison. Her dress appeared to be handmade, and her only accessory was a bandana that adorned her long, black hair.

“Lady Primrose, everyone, it’s good to see you all again!” the well-dressed woman stated. “We were starting to think you weren't going to make it until tomorrow!”

Primrose smiled in response. “We had a little incident that set us back a bit, but we were able to leave Cobbleston this morning. We’ve been traveling all day to reach Sunshade,” she explained. Cyrus felt a tad bit bad knowing he was the cause of the delay, and he hoped he hadn’t thrown their scheduling off.

“I accidentally got here a few days early myself,” the black-haired dancer mentioned. “My parents got the dates mixed up, so I left two days before I needed to! I ended up staying in an inn for a few days before Cardia showed up and headed here with me.”

“Well I’m glad you all made it here safely nonetheless,” Primrose told the two women before gesturing towards Cyrus. “Oh, and allow me to introduce you to our guest. This is Cyrus Albright.”

Cyrus stepped forward “Ah, it’s nice to meet you two! I’m a Professor from the Royal Academy in Atlasdam, and I’ve obtained permission from Miss Azelhart to study your preparations for the festival for my research. As a result, I will be staying with you for the next six months!” Cyrus stated. He felt a bit nervous, but he always did when he met new people. He never knew how they’d react.

Taking out a fan, the well-dressed woman began to fan herself. “It’s nice to meet you, Sir Albright. My name is Lucrezia, and I am the dancer for Winnehild. This fair maiden next to me is Meryl, the dancer for Dohter, and we’ll be happy to have you here” she introduced. The other dancer smiled and waved, and then proceeded to gesture to the dancers with Elena.

“And those two are Ria and Cardia, the dancers for Balogar and Aeber. Ria is the one with the shawl, and Cardia the one with the hat,” she explained. “Since those three tend to share many of their performances together, they’re rather attached to one another. Celica tends to spend a lot of time with them as well.”

Taking his journal out, Cyrus began to write. “And Ria is the Princess of Marsalim, is she not?” he asked the two. He was surprised to see somebody who was supposedly royalty in such common looking clothing, but he assumed it was because it was safer for her to travel in. He made a note to ask her about it later.

“Indeed, and Cardia is a Noblewoman in her own right. Many of the dancers are some kind of nobility actually, though we have quite a few women who are common folk as well,” Lucrezia informed him. He quickly scribbled down a few more notes and looked back up.

“I look forward to getting to know all of you better over the next six months, nobility or not!” he said with a smile. Lucrezia began to blush in response, and her fanning grew faster. She looked away.

“Ah… It will be my pleasure…” she said as she smiled lightly. Cyrus wasn’t quite sure why she had reacted in such a way, but he chose not to question it. There’d be plenty of time for questions after everyone had managed to settle in.

As the dancers got reacquainted with each other, Cyrus found a place to sit. The front room had been designed to seat all the dancers and then extra, so he managed to find a place where it would be a bit more quiet. As much as he wanted to join in and ask them questions, he also wanted to review all the notes he had taken so far. With how much he had written, he had surely forgotten something along the way. It also gave him a chance to organize his thoughts.

Reading through his notes, Cyrus underlined and circled a variety of things he deemed important or wanted to ask about. Most of what he had written was messy, and sketches interrupted various trains of thought. His writing was far less legible compared to his personal journal, and some bits were even impossible to make out. One sentence in particular was giving him trouble, and he scratched his head as he tried to decipher it. He must have written whatever it said in a hurry.

“What in the name of Alephan does this say?” he asked himself. Suddenly, the words formed in head as clear as day, and he had obtained the answer he was seeking…

...ah, right. He had almost forgotten he had the ability to do that.

Flipping to another page, Cyrus began writing the same note in a much more legible manner. He took it as an opportunity, and began to transfer the other notes of the page as well. He re-organized them in a way that was easier to comprehend, and added a few extra notes on top of it.  When he was finished, he flipped back to the first page, only for it to be gone and replaced with another.

The Lost Knowledge was always doing strange things like that. The god Alephan had placed many enchantments on it, and Cyrus believed the god always knew what was being written. That led to obsolete pages disappearing, or words moving from one page to another. There would even be the occasional note that he himself had not written. It was strange, but to be expected of a book that had belonged to a god.

“What an odd journal that is.”

Looking up, Cyrus was greeted by Primrose, who he hadn’t notice come over. She was leaning over the table and taking a peek at the Lost Knowledge’s stained pages. She looked up and gave Cyrus a cheeky smile before sitting down.

“You looked lonely over here, so I thought I’d come over and give you some company,” she said as she crossed her legs. Cyrus put his pen down and closed the journal.

“Ah, I’m perfectly fine! I just didn’t want to interrupt any of you with my questions while you were talking amongst each other, so I chose to review my notes instead,” he explained. “It never hurts to reread them, especially when I plan to write a research paper on the subject when I’m finished.”

“Oh, a research paper? What do you suppose you’ll be writing?” the dancer asked. It came as a bit of a surprise that she was interested, especially as most of the girls had grown tired when he first talked about his subject of study.

“It’ll be an in-depth analysis on how you prepare for the festival, along with some minor details on each of you. Of course, it won’t get too personal, since I’ll be sharing what I write with others,” Cyrus explained. With how long he’d be staying, he’d have a lot to info to gather. His hopes were that by the end of it, he’d be able to write a paper that was more of a short book.

“Well, I don’t think any of the girls would mind answering a few of your questions,” Primrose said before winking. “Especially because a number of them have questions about you as well.”

Cyrus tilted his head in confusion. “They’re still curious about me? Well, I can understand the four I have yet to properly meet, but not so much the others. I really don’t see what they all find so interesting about me!”

Primrose began to laugh. “They just want to get to know you better, Cyrus. You’re going to be spending the next six months with us after all, and it wouldn’t be any benefit if you were a complete stranger to them,” she pointed out. “And admittedly I already know a bit about you thanks to Odette, but there’s still much I can learn too.”

Cyrus felt his cheeks turn red as he began to grow embarrassed. “Ah, yes… That actually makes a lot of sense,” he muttered. “I guess I was just so focused on getting to learn about the festival, I didn’t think about how everyone else would feel…”

Primrose laughed again. “Really, Cyrus! You don’t need to look so gloomy about it! It’s only been a few days after all, and you have the entire six month period with us! There will be plenty of time for everyone to get to know you and vice-versa,” she assured the professor. He found himself managing to smile.

“You are indeed correct about that, and I should try my best to make the most out of these next six months, both for my research and as an opportunity to meet new people,” he told her. He didn’t interact with many other people outside of his research, so spending so much time with the dancers would be a welcomed change.

“We’re here to help you, but there’s much more to our stay than practicing and performing. I’m sure you’ll find yourself doing a lot of unexpected things while you’re here,” Primrose informed him. Her smile was a bit more mischievous now, and he wondered if she was planning something. Based on earlier events, however, he didn’t think it would be in her nature.

“I look forward to everything that the next six months has to offer then,” Cyrus said as his smile widened. He was feeling a tad bit more confident in himself now, and his embarrassment was starting to go away. “Though you don’t need to worry about keeping me company in the future. I’ve grown used to being alone and doing my own thing.”

Primrose shook her head and let out a small chuckle. “You are a strange one professor. You say you look forward to spending time with us, and then go to say you don’t need company,” she pointed out. Cyrus felt his face turn red again, and he scratched his cheek.

“Oh, well, I mean… Ah, you see… I only wish to say that I don’t always need one of you girls at my side,” he tried to explain. Nothing was coming out how he wanted to however, and he feared he was making things awkward. Primrose’s chuckle turned into another laugh.

“Ah, so you don’t want the company of a woman at all hours of the day?” she teased. “My, with your charms, I thought you’d be delighted to be surrounded by so many women!”

Turning beat red, Cyrus placed his face in his hands. “Please don’t say it like that! That’s not what I meant at all!” he told the woman. “I respect all of you and think you’re all wonderful, but I can spend time on my own when I need to!”

Primrose’s laughing continued. “Cyrus, it’s okay! I know what you mean,” she promised. “You’re just saying that it’s okay to leave you to your own devices if we’re busy. I’m sure you have plenty of those notes to review after all.”

Cyrus looked back up. “Ah, yes that’s exactly what I meant!” he said in response. He was starting to feel a bit anxious, but he was glad to know Primrose at least understood what he was trying to say. She winked.

“I’ll leave you alone now that I’ve teased you enough,” she said before standing up. “Oh, but before I forget. Simeon, the Priest of Sealticge, will be joining us for dinner. I’m sure he’ll be happy to answer any questions you have as well.”

“Ah, I look forward to it then! Though may I ask when exactly dinner will be? I’m starting to feel a bit hungry,” Cyrus mentioned. It had been hours since he last ate, and his stomach hurt slightly. He’d prefer they’d be eating sooner rather than later.

“Arianna and a few local chefs are working to prepare it now, so it shouldn’t be much longer,” Primrose assured him. “They’ll come and get us all when we’re ready.”

Cyrus nodded in response. “Alright, thank you. I’ll make sure to keep an ear out for them then.”

As Primrose went to rejoin the dancers, Cyrus went back to his notes. Not long after, Arianna came into the room and announced that dinner was ready. Cyrus got up from his spot and joined the group of women, and they were all directed into one of the halls. After passing a few other rooms. they were taken into a dining area, which had a table large enough to sit them all. The only other time Cyrus had seen a table so long was when he had attended a dinner for graduating students when he was younger.

After all the dancers took a seat, Cyrus was instructed to take one between Yusufa and Wilhelmina. Primrose sat across from him, and she chatted with Ishtar and Lucrezia as food was brought out. Cyrus found himself having a nice chat with the two other women he sat between, and at some point, Selena joined in as well. At one end of the table, Celica and Elena talked loudly, and Cardia and Ria both listened in. At the other end, Ami, Eve, and Meryl sat talking as well.

Before the meal could properly begin, the door to the room opened. A rather well-dressed man walked in, and those sitting at the table turned to look at him. He held what appeared to be folders in one hand, and a leatherbound journal in the other. He was smiling, but for some reason, Cyrus felt himself growing uncomfortable. Something about the man was off putting, but the professor wasn’t quite sure what.

“My my, I’m sorry I’m so late!” the man said as he walked forward. He found his way over to Primrose, and sat in an empty seat next to her. “I ran into a spot of trouble on the way from Wellspring, but I managed to take care of it without much delay.”

“Ah, Simeon, I’m glad you made it,” Primrose said as she smiled at the man. He smiled back at her, and Cyrus felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand up. Something did not feel right.

“...you must be the Priest of Sealticge then?” Cyrus asked the man. He was trying to ignore what he was feeling and be kind to such an important figure. The Priests and Priestesses of the Gods and Goddesses did a lot of religious work that could not be done by others.

“That is correct, and you are?” the priest asked in response. He was smiling at Cyrus now, and the professor’s uncomfortable feeling was starting to wane. Perhaps his sudden entrance had just thrown Cyrus off.

“This is Professor Cyrus Albright, the man I told you about in my letters,” Primrose explained. “He’s the Divine Chosen of Alephan, and I’m sure the two of you will get along very well.”

“Oh, Sir Albright is Alephan’s Divine Chosen?” Lucrezia interrupted from her seat. “I didn’t see a mark, so I would have never of guessed!”

Cyrus cleared his throat. “Ah, yes… I prefer to cover it when I travel in order to not bring unwanted attention to myself…” he explained nervously. He placed his hand on his forehead, and brushed his bangs out of the way. “It sticks out well enough with it being on my forehead.”

“What an honor it is to be in the presence of another Divine Chosen! It is wonderful to be able to meet you!” the priest declared loudly. There were whispers from the other dancers at the table, and Cyrus felt himself grow pale. He really didn’t want the attention to be on him.

“A… A pleasure,” Cyrus managed to force out. His uncomfortable feeling was back, and he thought he might be sick. He wasn’t sure if he could eat.

“Can thou beith any louder?” Ami asked the priest from down the table. She sounded annoyed, and based on how she had spoken about the priest when Cyrus had first met her, probably wanted the priest to quiet down. With how he was feeling, he wanted the priest to quiet down as well.

“Ami, please show Simeon some respect,” Primrose calmly told the dancer from her spot. She was glaring, and Cyrus could tell she was somewhat cross. The air grew awkward.

“Ah… If I may ask, what kind of work do you do as the Priest of Sealticge?” Cyrus asked the man across from him in attempts to change the subject. The professor assumed it was similar work to the Priest of Alephan, but it didn’t hurt to ask.

The priest placed his hands on the table. “Well, just like the Priest of Alephan, the core of my job is to interpret and share messages from the god I represent. Sealticge is not one to speak often, however, preferring her messages to be spread through Primrose’s song and dance. Between the few messages I receive, I perform special worship services, help those searching for guidance from Sealticge, and attend to the shrine and it’s statue.”

Taking out his journal, Cyrus began to write. “Are there any special activities you perform outside of the standard for a priest and priestess?” he continued to ask. He wrote using the pen of Sealticge to fit the theming of his notes, and it’s dark red ink matched with the stained pages.

“Well, while it doesn’t relate to my duties directly, I am a playwright, and I help to spread Sealticge’s creativity through the theater performances I direct,” the priest continued explaining. “I consider each performance an offering to the goddess, and many physical offerings are left as well.”

“How interesting!” Cyrus stated as he continued with his notes. The professor knew the Priest of Alephan helped to teach future generations in Alephan’s stead on top of their normal duties, and he was fascinated to learn both priests participated in activities that had a connection to what their god ruled over.

“I also help to organize the Festival of the Gods each year, and I keep records of each performance in both Everhold and Wellspring,” the priest added on. He placed the folders he had been holding down on the table, and spread them out slightly so both Primrose and Cyrus could see. “These are all the notes from last year!”

“Oh, is there a chance I can read through them later?” Cyrus asked in excitement. “You see, I’m researching the dancers and the festival this year, and records of the previous festivals would very much be of help to me!”

The priest smiled again. “Of course, it would be my honor to help with a Divine Chosen’s research! If you are ever in Wellspring or Everhold around the times I am, I would be honored to share more of the reports with you. I’ll see about bringing you some during my future visits as well.”

“Ah, so you won’t be staying with us these next six months? Though that makes sense, since I’m sure you have plenty of duties to continue attending to!” Cyrus mentioned. He recalled one of the dancers mentioning the priest visiting often during their first meeting, so there would be plenty of opportunities for the priest to bring reports.

“I’ll be here for at least a few days before returning to run a play in Everhold. I’ve written a romantic tragedy this time, slightly inspired by the Fallen God Galdera and his mortal lover, and honestly should be returning sooner. Thankfully, a friend of mine is running the practices until I return,” the priest revealed. Primrose placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You’ll have to tell me all about your play before you go, Simeon,” she requested. “I have hopes to run that story this year, and I wouldn’t mind a few tips from you based on your play.”

“Of course, dear Primrose! I’ll tell you anything you’d like to know!” the priest promised the chosen dancer. By the way they talked with each other, Cyrus could tell the two of them were close.

There was a small noise from next to Cyrus. “Um… I don’t mean to interrupt, but I think it’s time we should make our prayers and eat,” Yusufa said from her chair. She and the others were patiently waiting for the conversation to finish, and Cyrus felt bad about making them wait. He had been so invested in the conversation, his stomach pains had gone away and he had forgotten he was hungry.

Primrose looked at her friend and gestured slightly. “Ah yes, you’re right, Yusufa. We shouldn’t hold off on it any longer. Everyone, grab hands and prepare to give thanks!” she said as she grabbed the hands of those next to her. To Cyrus’ surprise, he felt the two dancers next to him grab his hands as well. He wasn’t quite sure what was happening.

Primrose lowered her head, and the priest and dancers followed suit. Taking their lead, Cyrus lowered his own head and stared at his meal. A moment later, the dancers began to speak one by one.

_“I thank Aelfric for giving us a guiding light.”_

_“I thank Alephan for giving us the knowledge we share.”_

_“I thank Bifelgan for giving us fortune of all kinds.”_

_“I thank Brand for giving us protection from the horrors of war.”_

_“I thank Sealticge for giving us music and dance.”_

_“I thank Dohter for giving us the chance to heal.”_

_“I thank Aeber for giving us safety when we travel.”_

_“I thanken Draefendi for giving us companionship.”_

_“I thank Balogar for giving us balance amongst chaos.”_

_“I thank Dreisang for giving us wisdom of the world.”_

_“I thank Steorra for giving us feelings of hope.”_

_“I thank Winnehild for giving us the power to push forward.”_

_“And I thank the twelve gods for protecting us from Galdera.”_

_“May the world continue to be at peace.”_

The dancers and priest looked up, and Cyrus followed behind. He looked around at them all, and watched as they all began to eat and return to talking amongst each other. He took it as an opportunity to better understand the prayer.

“Exactly what is that prayer for?” he asked the dancers sitting around him. “I know it’s common to give thanks to a specific god before a meal depending on one’s beliefs, but I rarely hear of thanking all of them at once.”

Next to him, Wilhelmina finished chewing a bit of her dinner and swallowed. “It’s just a simple thanks we give during our first and last meals as a group,” she informed the professor. On Cyrus’ other side, Yusufa began to nod in agreement.

“It’s not anything special, but it’s been a tradition amongst dancers for generations,” the blue haired dancer added on. “We’ve all been tasked to share their stories, so we say what we’re thankful for in relation to them.”

“My mother performed the prayer, and my grandmother and great-grandmother before her,” Primrose stated from across the table. “They say the tradition can be traced back to the very first Azelhart dancer, who would give thanks to every god before each performance.”

“Fascinating!” Cyrus said before opening his journal. “Please, do tell me more!”

As the group ate, the dancers and Cyrus discussed different traditions amongst the troupe that had been passed down. He learned things such as the dances having roots in the troupe’s first generation, and how there were heirlooms that were rumored to have belonged to the gods the dancers represented. It was all useful information for his research, and he wrote his notes with one hand while trying to eat with the other. It was difficult, but he managed. By the end of it, he had plenty of new information to use in his paper.

With dinner finished, the girls began excusing themselves to their rooms. Each girl used the same room every year, and their luggage had been taken to the rooms  as they ate. Cyrus had also been assigned an unused room on the top floor, where he would find all of his stuff as well. He was even given a key to access it, allowing him to lock the door and have more privacy. He wasn’t sure exactly how much privacy he would need, but he was still grateful.

Primrose was the one who offered to take Cyrus to his room, as Arianna would be busy cleaning up after dinner. Simeon tagged along as well, though he would be staying the night elsewhere. According to the priest, he had booked a room in the town’s most well-known tavern.

“I thank you again for giving me so much information during dinner!” Cyrus said as the trio walked down the upper hall. “I feel I’ve already learned enough to fill ten pages worth!”

Smiling, Primrose stepped a few steps ahead of him. “Of course, Sir Albright. We’ve allowed you to come with us so you can learn, did we not?” she teased slightly. Cyrus smiled in return, and let out a small chuckle. Behind him, Simeon cleared his throat.

“I’ll make sure to bring you those reports during my next visit. I’m sure you’ll be able to learn quite a lot from them as well!” the priest assured the professor. Cyrus noted his tone was rather strange, but he thought nothing of it. Cyrus assumed at this hour, the priest was just tired.

“I thank you greatly for your kindness, and I do believe we’ve reached my room,” Cyrus said as stopped in front of a door. There was a picture of a sun carved into it, which Arianna had said his room’s door would have. It reminded Cyrus of his mark slightly.

“Somebody will come get you in the morning if you’d like. That way you can sleep as much as you need to but still be up on time for breakfast,” Primrose offered. Cyrus, however, shook his head in response.

“No, I think I’ll be fine on my own. I’m sure I’ll actually be up earlier than most of you, and I’ll use my time to find my way around this place if that’s alright,” he said. If he was going to be spending the next six months in the manor, he wanted to make sure he knew the layout. He would surely be walking through the place a lot.

Simeon began to laugh. “Just be careful, this place is easy enough to get lost in. In fact, I remember when Primrose first came to the manor with her mother! I had tagged along upon Lady Dahlia’s request, and Primrose had managed to wander off. She got lost looking for the bathroom, and it took an hour for us to find her!”

“Simeon! You don’t need to tell him that!” Primrose said before laughing herself. “That was years ago, and now I know the layout better than you do!”

Cyrus smiled. “I’m glad to see that Sealticge’s Dancer and the Priest of Sealticge get along so well! You two are quite the pair!” he mentioned. He noticed Primrose began to blush a bit, but she still looked at the professor with confidence.

“Simeon and I have known each other for years now. I was eight-years-old when he first started working for my father,” Primrose began to explain. Moving next to her, Simeon crossed his arms.

“When she asked me to serve as the Priest of Sealticge when she was sixteen, I couldn’t say no. We had known each other for almost a full decade, and our bond has only grown stronger since then,” the priest finished for her. It was a heartwarming story, but Cyrus had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Something felt off again.

“Well, I look forward to getting to know you both better,” Cyrus said with a small nod. “For now though, I think it’s time we part ways for the night.”

Saying their goodbyes, Primrose and Simeon left Cyrus alone in the hall. Using the key he was given, the professor opened the door and entered the room. It was spacious, but it was filled comfortably with furniture. Bookshelves, drawers, and a desk were pushed against the wall; a couch laid nearby to be used for laying down and reading; and a small table and chairs for sitting and drinking tea were placed near a decorative window. In a corner, a bed easily able to fit more than two people sat with a chest for storage placed at the foot of it.

Cyrus’ belongings had been placed on top of the bed, and he went to start unpacking. The nagging feeling he had was not leaving, and he figured focusing on something else would help it to go away. He placed his clothing in the drawers, and a few personal belongings in the chest. On a vanity, he placed the few items he used to style and pull back his hair, and on the desk, his journals and pens. He placed a few items for writing letters as well.

Settling in, Cyrus sat down on the couch. He was feeling a bit restless, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do. He had already written so many notes during the day, and it would be better if he didn’t try to organize them until the morning. Perhaps he could try reading one of the many books that appeared to be placed in the bookshelves.

...or perhaps, he could try to figure out the strange nagging feeling instead.

Simeon seemed like a nice enough person, but that didn’t change the fact he had made Cyrus uncomfortable upon first entering. There was something about the priest that threw the professor off, but he couldn’t quite place what. Was it his hair? His manner of dress? Nothing seemed plausible.

Sighing, Cyrus stood up and grabbed his personal journal and pen from the desk. He sat back down, and stretched out along the couch. Whenever he didn’t quite understand something, he felt that writing about it helped. He opened his journal to see where he left off, and placed the pen down on the paper…

_“Today, we arrived in Sunshade, and I met the Priest of Sealticge, who gave me an uncomfortable feeling I don’t quite understand…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No chapter speedrun this time, but I did get it done in a reasonable amount of time! I did a good chunk of it over the last few days, and finished editing this morning. It didn't give me any trouble like some other chapters have!
> 
> This chapter doesn't have as much going on as some of the last chapters, but it did have the introduction of an important character. Why is Simeon so important? It's probably easy enough to guess with context clues and knowing the game, but I'll leave the exact details up to your guys' imagination for now! I also wasn't quite sure how I wanted to write him, but I figured a more over-dramatic Cyrus worked well enough.
> 
> Also all of the dancers have gathered together now, which means it's back to Cyrus getting to be anxious. He got to be cool last chapter, but it's equal exchange so now it's back to being awkward. That's just how things work around here.
> 
> Oh, and before I forget! The next chapter is going to be a lore chapter, and I hope to have it out within a week or two! See you then!


	5. Lesson Five: The God Alephan and the Goddess Sealticge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Over two millennia ago, the Knowledge of the God Alephan became lost to the world. Learning that it was in the possession of a great thief, Alephan took matters into his own hands in order to try and reobtain it. Such matters resulted in him going to the Goddess Sealticge for information, but the conversation they have expanded beyond what Alephan had come to learn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter is a completely optional read referred to as a Lore Chapter. As is the same as the other lore chapters, the focus of it is on the gods whose chosen are the focus of this fic in full. Though this chapter will explain a small sliver of backstory related to the gods, if you only want to read about the travelers and their friendship, there is no harm in passing on this chapter.

_With each new generation, the curse consumed those who obsessed over Alephan’s Forbidden Knowledge… **  
**_

_And then, when the Forbidden Knowledge became Lost, the one who had written it began to search…_

It had been four hundred years since Alephan had lost his endless tome to the hands of man. He had secluded himself, no longer teaching the world the knowledge he had obtained, and spent much of his time at the side of the Goddess who had become his companion. Draefendi had saved him from death at the hands of a mortal’s weapon, and the two had become close during his recovery. She promised him that she would protect him, and in return he gave himself to her in full. They became the divine equivalent of a husband and wife.

Alephan still remembered the day his former student had tried to take his life. Her name had been Pandora, and she had originally been a bright student with a good heart. After her cruel attempts to take Alephan’s life and obtain knowledge, he had cursed her family to obsess over the tome now that it was in her hands. She soon went insane, and eventually suffered a horrible death as she lost herself. The book was then passed down to her child, who only suffered the same way she did.

The twisted cycle continued for generations, until finally the tome slipped away from the family’s hands. It was taken by thieves, who had robbed the holder of the tome blind, and was now somewhere not even Alephan knew. The curse, however, continued, changing so those affected became obsessed with recovering the tome. None were successful in obtaining it, and death continued to follow them. It was cruel, but Alephan considered it a just punishment for a bloodline that was greedy enough to slay a god.

Now though, Alephan had left his wife’s side. Despite what had happened, he still had hopes that one day the family would break free from the curse. For such a thing to happen, however, the tome needed to be back in the family’s hands. It was not until someone with a good heart obtained the tome that the curse would have a chance to be broken. Then, those who had suffered would finally rest in peace.

At first Alephan had not wanted to intervene in locating the tome, but then rumors started to spread. The Lost Knowledge was now in the hands of divinity, who treated it as a treasure and kept it hidden away. If the tome was to be recovered, it would have to be by Alephan’s own hand.

It was in the Sunlands where Alephan began his search. He traveled to one of the first thirteen towns of Orsterra, one known for its many dancers, and where the Goddess Sealticge made her home. Though the gods had separated themselves from each other centuries ago when first entering the mortal plane, Alephan had since discovered the location of many of the other gods. Sealticge had chosen somewhere where she could be hidden away from divinity, yet still be among the presence of mortals. With Alephan’s endless knowledge, however, it had been easy to track her down.

Walking along the streets, Alephan came across a tavern. It was extravagant and held many a patron, and in the center of it stood a grand stage. It was on that stage where only the most talented of dancers and singers performed, and Sealticge was said to be amongst them. As the Goddess of Creativity, it was only natural she would be. She had been the one to create song and dance in the first place.

Taking a seat where he would not be noticed, Alephan watched the stage. A small trio of dancers was performing, telling a tale of a noblewoman who had fallen in love with both a fair maiden and a king. Alephan recalled the events well enough, and he knew that the noblewoman eventually died of an illness with both of her loves at her side. It was tragic, but the people had embraced the story. It was considered one of the greatest tales of romance of the time.

When their performance finished, the trio bowed and stepped off the stage. Candles were blown out after, and the lights began to dim. A lone dancer walked to center stage, and she held a golden fan into the air. A somber melody began to play, and the dancer began to sing. Her notes were soon followed by movement, and she mesmerized everyone who watched. 

She sang of a princess who was betrayed by the man she had loved. He had killed her father and had only wanted to take her kingdom for himself. Scorned by the man, the princess prayed to the heavens for the man to be struck down. She prayed each day and night, but when her prayers were not answered after a year of pain, she took matters into her own hands. She killed her former beloved, and went to make the kingdom prosper under a lone rule.

When the song finished, the dancer bowed. Both men and women alike had been brought to tears by her performance, and Alephan stood up to clap. The dancer looked at him as she stood back up, and for a moment there was a glint in her eye. She stretched her hands out and addressed the crowd. She was beaming.

“I thank you all for coming to watch me perform today! May you be blessed with creativity and wellness in all paths of your lives!”

When the dancer walked off stage, Alephan headed towards a door off to the side. It was well guarded, and the two men standing in front of it looked at him with suspicion as he approached. The god cleared his throat.

“Is it alright if I pass? I wish to speak with the dancer who just performed,” he requested. They looked at each other for a moment and then looked back at him, and neither of them looked like they were going to budge.

“The Lady of Grace does not speak with strangers after performances, so I’m afraid you’ll have to leave and come back another time,” one of the guards informed Alephan. The god placed a hand on his own chest and gestured to himself in response.

“Ah, but you see I am no stranger to her! Surely if you just let me in, I’ll be able to clear everything up!” he assured the two guards. One of them stepped forward, however, and began to push Alephan away.

“No means no, and if you don’t leave, we’ll have to escort you out with force,” the other guard warned. He had a fire in his eyes, and Alephan could tell he was serious. He gulped.

“Ah, yes, my apologies, but please, if you see her, let her know that the Scholar-”

“Alephan, it’s a surprise to see you away from your beloved.”

Alephan peaked his head around the guard. The door they were blocking was now open, and a woman covered in a shawl and a cloak was standing before them. Her brown hair was barely visible, and her blue eyes shone brightly. The two guards looked at her, and then proceeded to step back. They both gave her a slight bow of respect.

“My Lady of Grace, is this a guest of yours?” one of the guards asked. The woman smiled in response, and gestured for Alephan to come in.

“Yes, though I was not expecting him. Dear Alephan, please, follow me,” she requested as she moved out of the way. The guards cleared the path, and Alephan followed her into the hall.

“Ah, I’m sorry for tracking you down like this, but there’s something I wish to speak with you about,” the god explained. Sealticge began to walk away from him, but looked back while continuing to speak.

“I’m sure there’s a reason for your visit, but let’s talk about it over tea,” she said as she moved down the hall. Alephan followed behind, making sure to stay close.

Sealticge led Alephan into a small dressing room that was somewhere near the entrance to the stage. They passed a few other acts on their way, and Alephan could hear the current one as they walked. The room itself was small, and was cluttered with different pieces of furniture and a large amount of clothing. Sealticge sat down at a small table, and Alephan sat across from her. She poured him a cup of tea.

“What is it that you wish to talk to me about, Scholarking?” the goddess asked him. Alephan placed a few cubes of sugar in his tea and drank a bit before explaining. He had a serious look on his face.

“I wish to speak to you about your brother,” Alephan said. The woman across from him inhaled sharply, and she looked at Alephan with a glare.

“That… That  _man_ is my brother no longer,” she said harshly. “Do not even consider calling him such to my face.”

Amongst the gods, there were a number of relations. While they were all acquainted with one another, there were also those who were considered family. Those who were considered family were normally born from the same divine power, such as Alephan and his siblings, Dohter and Steorra, being created by their father Dreisang splitting his own divine power, but there were other ways to be considered family as well. Though Sealticge and her brother were not born of the same divine power, their divine power was connected by a single element. While Sealticge had direct control over the shadows, the god she raised as her brother could exist within them.

“My apologies, but I have heard rumors of Aeber being in possession of something that belongs to me,” Alephan explained. “I know your relationship is strained, but he is one of the gods I am unable to track, and I wanted to see if you knew anything about his whereabouts.”

The goddess sighed. “When Aeber was born as a divine child with the ability to travel in shadow, I took him in out of the kindness of my heart. I taught him how to dance, to be charming and graceful, and he in turn used those skills to betray my trust and become a thief. He is not of my own flesh and blood, but a monster who pretends to be. I do not stay in contact with him as a result.”

Alephan frowned. He knew it had been well over a millennia since Aeber had turned against Sealticge, but they were wounds that were not easily healed. It was as if he had stabbed his sister in the heart, and now she had no faith in the man she had once considered family. It did not help that rumors of terrible deeds done at his hand were starting to spread, and that he had tried to steal the heart of another goddess. He was truly becoming a monster, and there didn’t seem to be a way to stop him. It must have pained Sealticge terribly to hear.

“I know this must be hard for you to speak about, but is there anything you can tell me at all?” Alephan asked. He did not like having to pry about such painful things, but at the moment Sealticge was his only chance at obtaining a lead.

“What did he take of yours that you are so desperately trying to take back?” Sealticge asked in response. Her tone was harsh, and Alephan could tell she was getting angry. Alephan swallowed dryly and tried his best to maintain his composure.

“If the rumors are true, he has obtained my journal detailing every event in history up to four hundred years prior to now,” he said before placing his hand on his forehead. There, he had a scar from when he had been shot with an arrow. “I was almost killed by my own student who was trying to obtain it, and it is now a cursed object only meant for her family’s hands. I wish to find it and return it to them in hopes that they can one day break the curse.”

“...you have cursed an entire bloodline?” Sealticge asked in response. She seemed shocked by the revelation, but it was understandable. Alephan was not normally the kind of divine being to do such a thing.

“The book itself is what contains the curse by the hand of my own blood, and if it falls into the hands of any other mortal, I worry such a curse will manage to spread,” Alephan warned. “It is a just way to punish the family of my student, but I do not wish for it to harm any other.”

“Did you not think of that when placing the curse?” Sealticge continued asking. She was giving him a horrified look, as if he had done something wrong. Alephan shook his head.

“When the curse was placed, I lay dying from my wound. At the time my focus was only on placing the curse, and not what it meant. As my blood is what touched the book, it was what was cursed instead of the bloodline directly,” he explained. It was not that he hadn’t considered the possibility, it was just that in the situation he was in, he couldn’t. He had truly thought he was going to die.

Sealticge sighed again. “...if that is the case, I will tell you what I know,” she said with slight hesitation. “I do not approve of the route you have taken, but the circumstances cannot be changed now.”

“Thank you for understanding. Even the smallest bit of info can have great benefits to me,” Alephan said in response. He had hopes that if he could track down Aeber, he could explain the situation to the mischievous god and reobtain the lost tome without a problem. If not, he wasn’t quite sure what he’d do.

Looking into a nearby mirror, Sealticge stared at her own reflection. “Before Aeber tried to steal away Bifelgan, he came to me, asking me for advice. He wanted to charm her and win her heart, but I sent him away saying that she was not a treasure to be won. During that time, he said he had made his home in the Cliftlands, in a cave that was hidden away by illusions. My assumption is that he is still there, lurking and commanding thieves from the shadows.”

“I see…” Alephan muttered as he placed his hand underneath his chin. “So if I can find this cave, then I can find Aeber…”

Sealticge turned her attention back to Alephan. “As I said, it’s only an assumption… He could have easily moved elsewhere by now. He is a thief after all, so he is always on the move,” she pointed out. Alephan nodded in understanding.

“I appreciate your help nonetheless,” he thanked. Even if Aeber had already left the cave in the Cliftlands, there was always the chance those who served him were still nearby. If Alephan could find a thief to interrogate and scrutinize, he could surely get more info out of them.

Taking a deep breath, the goddess poured herself a cup of tea. “That is all the info I have on him, so if it does not prove useful to you, I will not be able to supply you with more,” she informed the god sitting across from her. “I wish to not be associated with that man any longer.”

“I understand, you have my word that I will not bother you again,” Alephan promised. Though he had many more questions that he could ask, he knew that doing so was not wise. He did not want to upset the goddess anymore than he already had.

The goddess took a sip of her tea and placed her cup down before folding her hands together. “Though tell me, son of Dreisang, what must this cursed bloodline suffer through?” she asked. There was a glint in her eye, and Alephan felt himself tense slightly. He felt as if he was being scrutinized himself.

“...those who are of my student’s direct bloodline now obsess over the knowledge that I spread. Obtaining it becomes their only goal in life, and many of them have gone insane in their research,” he hesitantly explained. “Now that they no longer have the journal, they search for it endlessly, hoping to reobtain it. The current master of the Albright family lost his father when the man fell to his death following a lead, and as he grows older, he too will become as obsessed as his father once was.”

“How tragic… And what of the student who first obtained the journal? What were they like?” Sealticge continued to ask. Alephan inhaled sharply, and he could feel her eyes on him. She was judging him.

“Her name… Her name was Pandora Albright. She was amongst the brightest, if not  _the_ brightest student I ever had. She was curious, and one day hoped to teach others the things that she learned. I taught her well, and she in turn reached my every expectation of her,” he continued explaining. He still remembered the smile she’d have on her face whenever she learned anything new, and how she always had dozens of questions to ask him. She was everything he ever wanted in a student.

“And yet she tried to kill you? There must be more to it than that,” Sealticge said as she raised an eyebrow. Alephan sighed, and stared into the cup of tea placed before him.

“As perfect as student as she was… One day, she began to change. She no longer spoke of teaching, but instead using her knowledge for her own personal gain. She would learn everything she could from me, and then use what she had learned to obtain great wealth. I warned her that such a path was dangerous, and that my knowledge was meant to be shared. She did not believe me, however, saying only those with great knowledge could succeed. With such beliefs, I could no longer continue to teach her, and dismissed her as my student. I left her and never turned back,” he finished explaining. It was a painful thing to recall, but Alephan had asked Sealticge to do the same with Aeber. It was only fair he shared his own pains related to the situation as well.

“And this rejection is what led her down her path… The poor dear, I almost feel sorry for her,” the goddess admitted. “What happened to her after the curse was put in place?”

“...she went insane,” Alephan answered. “Obtaining the knowledge from my journal, she found the wealth she seeked. It was never enough, however, and she only continued to want to learn more. Her lust for knowledge was never satiated, and when my journal had nothing left to offer, she lost herself. She disappeared, leaving the journal behind, and soon after, her son grew interested in the journal as well and suffered a similar fate.”

“...and do you feel any guilt for the lives you destroyed? For those who suffer for something that was done by the hand of their ancestor and not their own?”

Alephan looked at Sealticge in shock. He didn’t expect such a question to be asked, nor did he believe he had destroyed anything. He was merely bringing justice where it was due. Trying to murder divinity was not something to be taken lightly after all, and he  _wasn’t_ going to let them suffer for all eternity. There was a way to break the curse.

“I am not as cruel as you are trying to label me as! As I said, I am searching for my journal to help them break the curse! It can only be done if the journal is back in their hands, and I want to return it to them as quickly as possible!” he defended himself. Sealticge’s expression turned into one of sadness.

“And how can they break such a horrible curse?” she asked. “How can they free themselves from their suffering?”

Alephan tried his best to keep his emotions in check. “When a child that has the original ideals of my student is born into the bloodline, then I will consider breaking the curse. I will allow them to read through my journal without consequence, and if they choose to teach others and not keep knowledge to themselves, then the curse will be broken,” he explained. “That is why finding Aeber is so important to me right now.”

“And this child, will you mark them? Just as others amongst divinity hope to one day do with a mortal of their own? Will the world know of this curse you’ve placed upon their family? Or will you follow a different path?” Sealticge continued to ask. Alephan sat quietly for a moment before speaking again.

“Yes. I will mark the child that will one day break the curse. My symbol, the golden sun, will be placed on their forehead, just as their ancestor has placed a scar upon me. The world will know who they are, and the child will live knowing I am watching them,” he responded. He knew it was a heavy burden to place upon a mortal, but it was the condition he had set. If they failed to meet his expectations, they too would fall to insanity, and the cycle would begin anew.

“I can only hope that such a child will be born soon so the family no longer needs to suffer,” Sealticge said before continuing to drink her tea. Her tone alone told Alephan she did not approve of his actions, but it was not worth trying to defend himself more. The two just simply did not see eye to eye on the situation.

“And what of you? Do you have plans to one day mark a mortal of your own?” Alephan asked the goddess. He had heard the whispers and stories of divine beings like himself one day placing their faith in a single mortal, but he had never heard word of Sealticge choosing to do the same. He was curious if during their time in the mortal plane, something had changed. Sealticge, however, shook her head.

“There has yet to be a reason for me to mark a mortal,” she answered. “They have nothing to prove to me, and there is nothing I am trying to protect. I am simply here to spread feelings of creativity through song and dance, which I can do just fine on my own.”

Alephan gave a slight nod. “That is fair enough, Sealticge. You take your duties to mortals seriously, and I’m sure you will continue to inspire those who watch you on stage.”

At first, the goddess did not respond. She drank her tea in silence, and though her eyes were closed, Alephan felt like she was staring at him with a slight disdain. It made the air heavy, and the god was unsure if he should continue speaking. He truly thought his actions to have been just, but it was obvious the goddess did not share his views. Once her tea was finished, she opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Now if you’re done asking questions, please finish your tea and be on your way,” she requested as she placed her tea cup down. Her tone was sharp, and it sounded more like a demand. “I’m traveling to a town with a most magnificent theater to perform, and I must prepare before I leave in the evening.”

Alephan let out a deep sigh. It seemed their conversation was over. “Of course. I will leave you to it.”

His business finished, Alephan departed from the tavern. He had received enough info to continue his search, and once the next morning came, would be on his way. The Cliftlands could take up to a week to travel to, and with him not knowing Aeber’s exact location, he had no idea how long his journey would take him. Though he had prepared for such a thing, he did not like being away from his beloved.

The god stayed in an inn that night, amongst mortals who wished to hear his stories. He spoke to them of old tales, and bits of history that had come to pass. As he recounted these legends, Sealticge’s words rang in his head. She had truly thought his punishment to be unfair, and held sympathy for one who had tried to kill him. Of course, she had not been the one on the receiving end of the arrow, so she could not truly understand.

Alephan had hope in this bloodline, even after Pandora’s betrayal. He knew that one day, the one who would break the curse would be born, and they would prove that scholars could still have good hearts. Before then, however, Aeber needed to be found, and the tome returned to the family. Even if Sealticge refused to assist him further, he did not need anymore of her help in completing his task. She had already given him all the info he needed.

Through the Sunlands, Riverlands, and into the Cliftlands Alephan traveled. He searched for the mischievous god, hoping to reobtain what was lost. As he traveled, whispers spread, and soon all mortals knew what had occured…

_And so through the Goddess Sealticge’s words did the God Alephan find the God Aeber…_

_But the tome was already gone, and for centuries Alephan would have to continue his search…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I managed to get this chapter done at a reasonably fast pace thanks to it being shorter!
> 
> As fun as lore chapters are, however, the fact they're short and only cover so much can make them a bit difficult to write at times. It took me a long time to actually write the last 500 words of this chapter, since I was really only playing off the intro and main scene for this, and boy did I get frustrated. So happy it's done!
> 
> So we get a bit of a more detailed backstory about the Albright family curse! It's amazing they've kept the same last name for so long, but that's just a part of the whole direct bloodline thing. There's surely people in the family who don't have the last name that suffer, and poor Cyrus isn't the only one who has to deal with it.
> 
> As for Sealticge, she's somebody who marches to the beat of her own drum. She enjoys being away from the other gods, and doing things how she wants to. We also got a learn a little bit more about her, and some things that are relevant elsewhere! Like always, things are connected!
> 
> I'm going to be changing my schedule a bit in order to get this fic done asap, which means you're probably going to get two chapters in a row for a bit! This particular fic is much shorter than the main ones, and once it's done, I can start another! I have a lot planned, and I want to make sure I manage to get through a much as I can!


End file.
